The True Meaning of Christmas
“Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3 Just after Thanksgiving, as the dishes are cleared and the leftovers put into their containers, I hear the familiar little voice of my daughter, Brinlee. “Let’s put up the Christmas tree!” her tiny little voice shouts, filled with so much joy. Her excitement is contagious and moments later my husband, Seth, and I are arduously pulling our 15 foot tree out of the basement. Yes, 15 feet tall. Seth got it for a steal of a deal from a closeout shop near our home. Piece by piece, we pull the tree out into the living room. Brinlee’s excitement grows with every piece that is stacked up. Moments later, the tree is standing sentinel in all its glory.
Now for the second battle: decorating. Brinlee helps with the boxes full of lights, ornaments, and garland. She begins to bop around humming her favorite Christmas songs and pulling her favorite ornaments from the boxes. Seth and I pull out the ladder in order to string the lights on the tree. We step back a few times. I’m that girl. They have to be just right. I finally decide they’re as good as they’ll get. My husband throws Brinlee on his shoulders so she can put her favorite ornaments “right in the middle”, her favorite spot. After I move a few ornaments around and step back to take it all in, we decide that the tree is finished. Brinlee stands staring up at the tree with the complete and innocent wonder of a child. There aren’t even gifts under the tree, and already she is buzzing with the excitement of Christmas morning.
“Now that the tree is up, what do we need to put out?” I ask Brinlee, breaking her trance from the tree. “Baby Jesus!” she yells. Yes, the Nativity. In our home, the Christmas tree goes hand in hand with the Nativity. I slide the last box over and slowly pull out all the pieces: the manger, the angel, Mary, Joseph, the three kings, and the animals. I hand them to Brinlee who expertly places them all into place. I pull out the last piece, a tiny, infant, swaddled Jesus. I hand it to her. She holds him in her hands, kisses his little porcelain face, and places him into the manger. As she stares down at her job well done, and as she runs her fingers over that most holy face, I begin to think. This same time five years ago, Seth and I made the decision to finally have a child of our own. After trying and praying for well over a year, our prayers were finally answered. One week before Christmas 2014, I give the amazing news to Seth. I’m pregnant. We are finally going to have our own child. After a moment of excitement, we decide to share the news to the family at dinner on Christmas Eve.
Five years later, I watch my baby stare in the glow of the Christmas tree, admiring the face of a baby that changed my world. You see, when I gave birth to my daughter, I experienced the most precious gift I had ever experienced (other than being saved). In her was my whole heart, my entire purpose. And it was then that I understood why God gave His Life and His Spirit through a baby. He knew that through the birth of a child, all Heaven and Earth would stand in awe and attention at His wonderful work. This Christmas I celebrate the memory of the gift of my daughter. Despite all of the chaos and madness Christmas can cause people, I choose to revel in the deeper understanding of the gift of Jesus, the true gift of Christmas. And that through His birth, life, and death, God opened Heaven and poured His Spirit onto man and drew us closer unto His heart. This Christmas season, I challenge you to slow down just a little and think about the true meaning of Christmas. Stop, and thank God for all that he has done for you.
“For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
