Each Christmas holds special moments that you want to keep forever. Trouble is most are lost because you didn’t write them down or didn’t snap that picture in time. I snapped a few pictures this Christmas but there were far more moments that I just want to hug to me and hold a while.
For me those first moments began at our church Christmas play the week before Christmas. The play was large this year with a cast of 73 and 14 scenes to get through. Most of it went smooth and as planned (except the trial scene but we got through that one and no one but the cast knew any different). In the funeral scene I was the widow whose son was raised from the dead by Jesus. I was to cry and did even at every practice. One little girl was just amazed that I could cry like that. She said I was a good crier. I take that as a compliment.
The little fellows in our play were so cute. Some were angels, some were little pigs and all sang in the youth choir. They got right in there and did as they were asked. The night of the play we were all arriving early and getting our costumes on. The little ones were beside themselves with excitement and I'll never forget the director, Mary Jo, walking around with a camera, snapping a picture now and then and letting these little ones get all their energy out so they could be quiet when it really mattered. What a smart woman she is.
After the play we had a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Clause. It is usually just Santa by himself. What a treat to have Mrs. Clause wearing her red velvet dress and bonnet. Then afterward I got to hold Jalyn Dyer. She is my little surrogate grandchild. She will even reach out for me from her own grandmother. That doesn’t take anything away from Linda, she is clearly loved by all her grandchildren. It just means that this precious little girl knows I think she is special and she feels the same about me. Warm fuzzy …………..
We celebrate Christmas as the birth of the Christ child. In our family we commemorate that each year by having a different member of the family read the Christmas story from the bible. We started with Daddy years ago not knowing it would be his last time to read. Now 12 years later it was 16 year old Caleb’s first time to read. We went through the family once before but Caleb couldn’t read the last time his turn came around. Next year it will be Alex (God willing he is still in the country) and the next we will start over with mother.
We saw most of our nieces and nephews during the holiday. It was so good to see them because we love each one to pieces. For me the memorable moments were those watching the great-nieces and nephews open their presents this year. They actually got simple gifts with the economy being what it is but they delighted over each one as though it was just the present they wanted. It made me feel all good inside.
I may have been sick through the whole holiday but that didn’t take away from the joy I felt. We didn’t ask for or give each other extravagant gifts this year but we celebrated the one true gift God gave to us. The One I celebrate every day because one moment when I was 10 years old that child whose birth we celebrated made His way into my heart and from that moment on my life has never been the same.
Now that’s a moment to remember……
