Packed and mailed gifts to those who live far away-check
Exams, administered, graded, posted (except for research papers to be graded over the holidays)-check
Grocery shopping-check
Last minute gift shopping (took my very life into my hands)-check
Doesn't the Bible call Jesus the Prince of Peace? Isn't this His birthday celebration? Then why is there so much work and stress leading up to the climax?
Well, in a word, the reason is LOVE.
For years, the driving force behind all the Christmas activity was my children. I always wanted a great Christmas for them and I was the only one who could pull it off. When someone else took over, it wasn't done right, and I wanted it right because I loved them so much.
I realize now that when I was a child, my mother probably had a checklist, too. I have never thanked her.
These days, my children are grown with children of their own, and they live hundreds of miles away. We see them as often as possible, but rarely on Christmas day. Still, the love remains. Creating ways to make their Christmas special continues. And the list goes on.
Now, the business of preparing for Christmas morning is for my parents. All the same events fill the list. All the same events are checked off one-by-one. And we pack up gifts and food and holiday smiles to burst through the door of their kitchenless apartment before 8:30 AM ... because of LOVE.
I wonder if there was a frenzied attempt to prepare in heaven as the great day of the birth of Jesus arrived ...
Come to think of it, Roman occupation, crazy Herod on the throne, an ordered census, a long road trip, a full house, no regular room available, locating a space with animals near a manger, labor and delivery far from mother and home, and the immediate arrival of strange guests-that was a stressful checklist, too. Why did it happen? LOVE.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
This morning is quiet and there is time to meditate. I realize that one of these years I will no longer be able to accomplish an elaborate checklist. I wonder, how our family traditions will go on? Will my children work out the checklist for me? In a way, I hope not. I don't want to be a source of stress for them, ever. Still, if the day comes when I am unable to do it, and I continue to walk on this planet, I hope I will be a participant in all their celebrations of love: birthdays, weddings, and, of course, Christmas. We shall see what that looks like some day, if I remain and if the Lord tarries.
"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with [us] all" (2 Corinthians 13:14).