Decorating for Christmas usually is one of my favorite things
to do because being a December baby myself, I celebrated my childhood birthdays by
matching the colors on the ends of limbs to the colors on a green pole,
followed by the large colored lights clipped to every other stem, all to build
a tree. I continued to celebrate my birthday with my own family by decorating
our home with Christmas cheer - a Christmas tree here, a wreath there, garland
down the staircase, candles in all the windows….all to celebrate this time of
year.
Many nativity sets adorn our home and somehow the spacing of
those figurines involved in the scene never quite get placed like those in a
Southern Living magazine. I distinctly remember when Matthew was much younger, and
he placed the animals, shepherds, wise men, Mary and Joseph in the barn huddled
closely into the manager where Jesus lay. If it had been a living nativity, baby Jesus would not have been able to
breath!
That year, everything within me wanted to spread the story
characters out for a more proper viewing, but Matthew informed me, “Everyone
wanted to see Jesus.” This was his idea
of the best placement for all involved.
And so the crowd remained huddled around the manger.
It was that year I realized the decorations did not have to
be strategically placed, I did not have to just put out the “pretty” ornaments,
nor did I have to have my home immaculate to throw a party! Our family knew the center of Christmas, and
it was important that we all huddled around for a good view.
Times change and the family looks different this year as we
add to our family through marriage and miss the presence of our Sophia. Yet, the
center of Christmas remains – Jesus.
You may be missing someone in your Christmas huddle this
year; you may be ecstatic there are new additions through marriage or births
that have added to your huddle. These huddles do not always remain, so we must
be mindful to cherish each moment of every Christmas we have with our loved ones
knowing we are not promised our huddle
will look the same next year. Gather around those you love, celebrate the joys
of the year, encourage relationships, relax, and enjoy the simple - yet quite
possibly the most important - things in this world.
May you have wonderful Christmas season enjoying those in
your 2019 Christmas huddle.
