For most folks the month of December is one filled with activities and commitments that cause all kinds of stress. What with shopping, baking, decorating, and many other similar things many will say that December leads to exhaustion and burn out. I find for myself this not to be the case as I have disengaged from many of the typical “Christmas” activities since the death of my son, Matthew. Much of the world’s imposed meaning of Christmas has no meaning for me.
Matthew was brought home to his Lord on December 5, 1985. Christmas, 1985 was already going to be a different kind of celebration with the death of my father in August of that year but I thought I could get through it by staying busy and focused on church activities. All that changed when Barb and I were told our son had died in the hospital emergency room that day.
It is every parent’s dream to see their children live long and productive lives but that was not to be for my son. The congregation I was serving at that time, was gracious enough to grant me whatever time was needed to mourn Matthew’s death. Since his burial was in St. Louis, Barb and I stayed there to be close to our families. But during those days prior to Christmas, I didn’t feel like celebrating until I made the effort to attend a Christmas Eve service at the church where my friend Dave was serving as associate pastor. It was there that I realized, once again, what was the real focal point of December and my life–Jesus, my Savior, whose birth we were preparing to celebrate.
You see, Christmas is proof to me that God keeps His promises. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Isaiah 62, because the themes of December are all right there: Prepare for the King is coming, the King who will save the world. It was at that time, in 1985, when I realized that for me all the usual things done for Christmas weren’t very important. The only thing that mattered was the Good News that God had sent His Son to be our Savior. I feel even more secure in that belief today.
So, as you go through all the activities of a normal December I will most likely be watching from a distance. I only put up a Christmas tree because my wife enjoys it–I don’t need one to make my Christmas season complete. We don’t bake Christmas cookies anymore because that only adds to my weight. I don’t go out running around looking for gifts because–well with my children no longer with us and my parents both in heaven, I don’t have too many people to buy for anyway. Plus, I don’t need presents to make my Christmas complete. My heavenly Father already took care of that by sending His Son to be my Savior. That’s the gift that counts and gives me cause to celebrate.
I pray the same is true for you.
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