You boys can’t come out of your room until 8am. Whoever Santa Claus is needs time to fly over the roof and drop things off!! And as much as we didn’t open the door until 8am, those little memories remain...
Forward Friday reminds us of days gone by that bring back memories of Christmas past that. And so many of the best memories are the little things. Even the Christmas story is filled with “The Little Things”. Enjoy the walk down memory lane and as usual, there’s Good News Medicine at the end!
Let’s Get Into This!!!
Growing up in our house, Christmas was a big deal… It wasn’t that lots of money was spent; it was in the creative genius of my parents, the making the most with what they had, and in the sharing of those things that remind me of the wonderful legacy and history that my family has…
And those memories are funny, interesting and heartwarming…
Kind of like: The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree…
I remember us going to Eaton’s and the Bay every Boxing Day looking for deals and on one of those occasions, we stood in line for 3 hours and bought our tree. It didn’t start out as a Charlie Brown Tree but 26 plus years later, that’s what it became!!
But that tree held, underneath it the many gifts that were given and received out of great places of love and thoughtful reflection.
How many times during the Christmas season would we sit and with just its lights on, rest and relax under it’s glow.
It was our tree…. Funny, it was Kelly’s 2nd Christmas with us that she remarked after the day was over, “Dave, I think the Mills Charlie Brown Christmas Tree is tired!”
My folks got a new tree the next year…. But it was our tree!!!! Simple, and a little thing but it was our tree for 25 plus years….. The Little Things…
Those Hot Cross Buns/Cakes…..
My mom was the main cook in the house but dad was a baker extraordinaire……..
Easter and Christmas was when dad would shine with his holiday baking.
He used hospital colors for icing: blues, pinks, greens, yellows and here’s a birthday cake with the yellow special….But they were always in demand…
He made the most unreal hot cross buns and cakes, so much so that people from church would order en-mass.
Many thought we would have dad’s delicacies all year long only to find out that we would have them at the same time that everyone else did.
On one occasion, my brother and I asked why he’d make 16 dozen hot cross buns and only keep 3 dozen or make 18 different types of cakes only to keep 4.
“We need to share because people need a special treat”. As much as we didn’t like it then because we knew we’d have to wait until the next time, looking back, it marked my thinking to this day that a little thing like sharing was actually a big deal.
The fact that there was so much labor that would go into to making the baked good, made it a labor of love….. And it was another “Little Thing” that is a cherished memory…..
Mom And Her Actress Moments-Christmas Eve
After dad passed away, mom became a staple at our house for the better part of 17 years during the Christmas season.
Our tradition became and still today is opening our Christmas presents on Christmas eve near midnight…
So, Mom would, when we would give her the first present, go into a discourse about how she couldn’t believe that we loved her enough to give her a present.
That would generally get me to tell her to just open it to which the back and forth would inevitably get me to tell her to be quiet and just open the present.
Mom would say, “I can’t believe you just told your mother to be quiet!”
To which I would say, “Can you just open it please?”
Those are some of “The Little Things” that I remember most and miss when I think of Christmas Memories…..
Here’s Some Good News Medicine For The Weekend!!
As we are walking into the Christmas season, there are many incredible things about the very first Christmas that blow us out of the water.
Jesus being born
The prophecy coming to pass of his birth
The revelation of the Wisemen not going back to Herod the king
But for those of us who are struggling this season… a family loss or a friend’s passing, relationships that are cratering, sickness and disease, job or money woes, loneliness, sadness, and the list goes on….
Sometimes, we think that God is not interested in the details of our lives; especially the little things… the hurts, the anxieties, the frustrations, the lows…….
But would it surprise us that the Christmas story is littered with many “Little Things” and I just want to give you 2 “Little Things” to encourage us on this first full weekend, leading up to Christmas.
Those Shepherds
Luke 2: 8-12 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.
They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.
“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Luke’s account tells us of the shepherds. Interesting; some words that describe the shepherds of that era were oddballs and exiles. And many of them were in that box.
One can only imagine the amount of sheep it would take to clothe, feed the people and let’s not forget the religious sacrifices of that period of time.
We’re a glamorizing society, we are. It would be awesome to think of the cowboy shepherd, sitting at a campfire under the sparkling stars and shiny moon but let’s not forget they were the keepers that had the sounds of noisy, annoying sheep.
But the shepherds were seen as the lowest of most and in many cases, weren’t even allowed in city limits and considered for most and by most common criminals.
It would be more like angels showing up on any town’s dilapidated, rundown area.
And The Innkeeper
Luke 2:7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
We can’t forget the fact that he’s not even named in the account; no name, no face but make no mistake, he is part of the miracle birth of Jesus. It’s crazy that a young couple, back side of the field shepherds, an unnamed innkeeper walking out a normal, ordinary life and these commonplace lives become part of God’s incredible story.
The Takeaway… The Things I Think….
While I’m sad in a sense of my own Christmas memories of the Charlie Brown Tree, the crazy desserts, mom’s dramatic antics, they do put a smile on my face and actually encourage my heart in wanting to exemplify the meanings, attitude and actions behind all that I experienced.
And when I think of how, in the plan of God to bring Jesus into our world, He used the seemingly non-descript, the marginalized, the almost forgotten, then I/we can be encouraged that He sees and is interested in every detail of our lives.
While Christmas can be hard and in many cases, it will be difficult for a myriad of reasons, God cares, God understands and God is interested in us!!
If it is true what the Bible says that in
Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Then it has to be equally true in
Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
I know for some of us, we may feel like wanting to curl up and let the season pass us by for a bevy of reasons but, maybe even in the littlest of things, there could be some rays of hope interspersed between and in the clouds.
Even in the “Not so easy moments”, remember that Jesus is but a breath away and is willing to walk us through and maybe this season, we’ll see “One Of Those Little Things” to help us more than just scrape by… We could even actually smile in the middle of where we are….
Walking with you this Christmas season….
Dave
Did you know……… Our Charlie Brown also had $5 bills taped on some of the ornaments?
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