We need a little Christmas. NOW.

I’m pretty certain there’s one thing we all agree upon.

IT’S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR.

We haven’t seen most of our friends since March. I haven’t done any shopping since March. I haven’t been to church since March. We haven’t gone out to a restaurant since August (outside seating…) and now we’ve even quarantined from our family.

We’ve lost PRECIOUS friends to this insidious virus. We’ve listened as folks downplayed the seriousness of the virus, and laughed at us as we wore our masks. We heard folks tell us it was all political and would end after the election. We’ve also listened as intelligent people have suddenly become medical experts as the REAL doctors and nurses desperately and heroically try to get their messages to sink in.

AND HERE WE ARE AT CHRISTMAS

We love our Christmas programs and our celebration of the Christ. We want our pageants and our concerts and our ceremonies. Heck! Who doesn’t love them and want them. But some folks aren’t doing them safely, some will gather with sweet family and friends for gifts and food, and the VIRUS will continue to spread.

Trust me, Jesus is ok if you skip a few of these activities!

Vaccinations

Well….. we’re all over the place aren’t we? On any given day you can find someone declaring them to be unsafe and and dangerous and vowing not to take them. We pray enough folks WILL take them and by summer we’ll get that flat line we need. We pray that the right folks will receive the vaccine and that the politicians and those who aren’t on the front lines won’t cut the line like a junior high boy in a school cafeteria. We know it’s happening…….we expected it, right?

I continue to be AMAZED at the intelligence of the scientists who were able to produce the vaccine and those who are in charge of logistics. We know vaccines are only as good as the vaccinations that occur, so we pray.

We pray a lot.

And now…….. we try to be joyful. Celebrations of Christ’s birth surely aren’t affected by all of the above, right?

Does it matter that this year I only dragged out 1/2 of my decorations? Does it matter that I copped out and my gifts are in bags and not beautifully wrapped? Does it matter that I’m buying a cheese ball? (Lord please don’t tell mama.) Have we contributed to Amazon more than we wanted? Have we sought out local businesses who are willing to cater to us and have taken time to help with out gifts?

Are we really trying acknowledge the essence of Christmas and Christ’s birth?

Please say yes…

Have we taken the time to breathe and reminisce about holidays of the past and glean the important from the non? I want to believe so. I really do.

And just because it’s my blog and I can write what I feel….let me share a few memories in hopes that they’ll help jog a few of yours…

• The big cedar tree at FBC Myrtle Mo. How it smelled, how beautiful it was
• The drawings for free groceries at Wisehart 3-in-1
• The drawings for cash in Thayer (Rose Ella always won)
• The brown paper sacks of oranges and candies each church member received after the Christmas program
• My brother cutting down our tree and dragging it home. Especially the time I couldn’t keep up and walked way, way behind him in his footprints left in the snow. And my beagle Pete (chubby and old) who couldn’t keep up with me and trailed behind doing the same.
• The time my family received matching pajamas from Uncle Tink and wore them across the street to Grandma’s on Christmas eve. When a car drove by catching us in the light mother was so embarrassed and tickled she wet her pants. (God don’t tell her I said that either)
• The black velveteen jumper mother had made for my junior high choir program. I never, ever felt so pretty.
• Mike’s insistence that we decorate the porch with boughs of cedar and huge colored lights… and going to the river to cut real mistletoe out of the trees.
• Jack’s grandpa Carl bursting into song as the records played. And how he always had a sweater buttoned up and still sat in front of the fire.
• Travis hiring a Santa to arrive and deliver gifts to the boys
• Reba hiring someone to make all the candy (and she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt).
• Reba always hiring Miss Tilly to clean up so she didn’t miss a minute of the fun.
• The excitement my boys always felt when going to JoKay’s or Becky’s or their Grandparents…..
• The love that was shared…

We’ll do it again

Next year when this virus finally leaves us alone we’ll do everything! We’ll be safe and we’ll celebrate BIG in every way! Hopefully we’ll all look back on this year with a better realization of what’s important and what really matters.

Our families, our friends. The Christ who was born to save us.

If I make it to next year, I know I will.