Our family will gather Thursday for Thanksgiving. I love it! It will be a wonderful, chaotic, noisy gathering where we laugh, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy wonderfully prepared food. Maybe we will watch a football game or two. Certainly, there will be a small football game in the front yard. What is not to love?
But then comes Friday. Not black Friday. I am talking happy, happy, happy Friday. I’m talking “Noah, granddad, and grandma” Friday. The Christmas tree goes up, and the Brown’s home gets ready for the Christmas season. Noah and I, for several years, have taken on the task of decorating the Christmas tree. I tell Noah about the many ornaments given to us by friends and family over the years. We hang the hand-made crochet candles Mrs. Ruth Salley made for us when she was 100 years old. I show him the ornaments celebrating his mother’s birth into our family. I tell him about family members no longer with us. Of course, we hang the ornaments from Disney World! We relive the trips that we made together. And then, when it is all said and done, we wait for that moment when no one is around. We both hang a “Christ nail” on the back of the tree. It is out of view, but it is there. It is a reminder of the reason for the season. Once the tree is decorated, we put the train track around the tree and grandma comes and sets up the village. Grandma does the pretty touches and gets things ready, then Noah and I will arrange the Nativity scenes. Really, there is an easier way to do all this, but I do not know of a better way.
We take the same loving approach with our church family. Our team will have the church decorated for the first Sunday of Advent. What a wonderful job they do. Like so many of our teams, they work behind the scenes, then beginning December 2, we will focus our worship services on the coming of Christ…The Advent. We will use candles to symbolize that Jesus is the Light of the world. Scriptures will be read reminding us of part of the greatest story ever told. We will do our best to help call our attention to the reason for the season.
Let this Advent season enrich your Christmas celebration. Refuse to become a Grinch. Go ahead and say it… “Joy to the World the Lord is come!” Now sing it. Go ahead. Sing it. I don’t care if I go shopping or not on Friday. What I do know is this…good Lord willing, I will be making memories with my family and teaching the joy of the Christmas season.
Happy Thanksgiving…and I can’t wait to say “Merry Christmas!”
Pastor Tom
