Christmas is about a baby.
F. M. Bareham wrote, “We fancy God can manage his world only with great battalions, when all the time he is doing it with beautiful babies. When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants discovering, God sends a baby into the world to do it.”
Every baby that comes into this world brings with it hope, dreams and a future full of possibilities. In my roles as a nurse, a doula and a midwife, I have had the honor of seeing over a thousand babies make their way earthside. Each birth is a miracle, each mama a warrior, each baby a gift.
A number of years ago, I gave birth to a little boy 12 days before Christmas. I loved having a brand-new baby at Christmas time. As I held and rocked him, I could not help but think of another mother rocking her baby boy, almost 2,000 years before. Before the shepherds came, before the magi brought their gifts, Mary would have stroked her baby’s face and put her finger out for his little fingers to curl around. She would have touched his curly hair and marveled at the miracle of new life. Like mothers everywhere, she would have been deeply, completely, committed to this little baby and to her mission of preparing Him for His.
Christmas is about service.
Christ became the servant of all. His ministry was exemplified by service to “the one.” Not only was he not ashamed to be seen with society’s “outcasts,” his mission focused on them. Healing those that society rejected — lepers, those with disabilities and the “unclean” like the woman with an issue of blood showed us how we should treat others, too.
Christmas is the time when the most hearts turn to serving. From the tiniest child sharing a piece of Christmas candy to large financial donations, from sharing a meal to spending Christmas building houses in developing nations, to providing “blessing bags” to our homeless friends and neighbors, Christmas inspires many of us to be more generous and more kind.
Some of the kindest, most generous people can be found giving as the widow gave of her two mites.
Volunteering in our local food pantry earlier this week, we had the opportunity to meet “Sarah” and her family. Sarah is seven months pregnant, with two small children and her “Home” is her car. As we helped her with food and information about other resources, we also were able to share hats and gloves. We offered a sleeping bag and blankets but she turned them down, saying they were warm enough and they should be saved for someone who really needed them. Imagine.
Christmas is about love.
The Christmas season is most of all about love. Sappy Hallmark movies about reconciliation, true love and family are popular because they strike a chord in us. We want healthy relationships. We want to know we matter.
The Grinch finally figured it out. Christmas for the Whos came “without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
Christmas is less about tangible gifts than it is about the intangible ones, like love and laughter and the strengthening of relationships.
Sometimes, the Christmas season is not a happy one. Traditions become burdens, gift-giving becomes an obligation and family relationships are strained or broken but underneath it all, we still want to love and be loved. Each of us can reach out and love another through a difficult and sad time. As we do, our own burdens will be lightened as well.
May your week be filled with love and laughter. Merry Christmas.
—
Holly Richardson
Holly Richardson is looking forward to a house filled with people who are loud, eat a lot and make big messes, because they are her people and she loves them.
