Christmas Musing

Sometimes it seems that I have lived through a thousand Christmas Days.  And, then there are also those times when it seems that there has only been one Christmas in my life.  Without trying to rob others of the joy known in these days, I must confess to the season always being a hard time.  It would seem after all these years that such would not be the case, but some moments are not only unforgettable, but they are also life shaping.  The death of my father on December 19 back when I was seven years ago was such a day.  I suppose it has caused me to identify with a group of people who remember December not because it is the month of Christmas, but because it is the month of deep loss.  

I do not remember much about Christmas in my seventh year and, to be honest, is to confess to not remembering a lot of them in the years which followed.  There are good memories mixed in through the years, but there is no way to run away from something so profound so long ago.  I have come to understand that not everyone finds Christmas to be full of joy.   What has transpired in the years is that I have found myself turning more and more to the Christ whose coming is remembered and celebrated in these days  The worship and music and keeping of the traditions has been like healing ointment on an ever present wound which never is completely healed.  

The One born among us also lived among us, suffered among us, died among us, and finally rose from the place of total despair among us.  It is His life, this divine life so graciously lived among us, which has transformed these days which would be filled with nothing but loss into a season which is brim full of hope for all that is known through the Christ and all that is still to be known through Him.  And so as a man who still remembers his brokenness, I praise the One who has come to heal our brokenness.