Sunday, December 5, 2010

the miracle is love.


If you were going to be Santa Claus for a Christmas Eve, what one amenity or convenience factor would you insist that your sleigh feature?

I would have to have endless supplies for making hot chai eggnog lattes.



There’s a miracle in Christmas –
There’s a stillness in the air
And excitement in the shining eyes
Of children everywhere

There’s a miracle in Christmas
As each silent night unfolds,
And we see again the promise
That this holy season holds.

There’s a wonder in traditions,
In the stories passed along,
In our thoughtfulness toward others,
And in voices raised in song.

There’s a reassuring comfort
In the joy glad tidings bring
And an inner peace from honoring
And praising Christ the King.

There’s a magic in the season,
In the kindnesses we do,
Whether joys are shared by many
Or among a special few.

There’s awareness of our gratitude
For blessings from above;
There’s a miracle in Christmas,
And the miracle is love.

-Jan Miller Girando

            Well, it’s the second Sunday of Advent! Today I’m enjoying the sense of magic that comes with the season of Christmas – we’re having some snow flurries today! Anyway, one of the magical parts of Christmas to me is when we finish decorating the tree and step back to admire the twinkling lights and glittering ornaments. I enjoyed this little story about the tradition of decorating Christmas trees.

            As the story goes, a professor named Martin Luther was walking alone through a forest one December night in the early 1500s. As he made his way home, the stars seemed to twinkle with an unusual brightness against the velvety blackness of the clear night sky. In fact, when he passed under the rustling branches of the evergreens, it seemed to him that miniature stars were dancing in the trees all around him.
            It wasn’t the sudden gust of cold wind that took the professor’s breath away; it was the unexpected wave of worship that caused him to shiver. Luther was overwhelmed by the awesome beauty of God’s creation.
            The legend goes on to tell how Luther chopped down a small fir tree and set it up in his family’s living area. He desperately wanted to somehow capture that moment in the starlit forest. Yet as he attempted to describe the beauty he had seen, words completely failed him.
            Suddenly Luther had an idea. He went through his house and gathered up all the burning candles. One by one, he carefully placed them on the branches of the tree, and the little fir in the middle of the Luther home began to dance with twinkling lights. This wise papa’s plan had worked! The Luther children’s eyes were suddenly opened to the meaning of Psalm 19:1: “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.”
            -“Lights on the Tree” from The Adventure of Christmas by Lisa Welchel

8 comments:

  1. I would have heated seats. (My little car has them and this time of year--it is in the 40's--I love them!)

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  2. I guess it would have to have an infant car seat. Otherwise I might get arrested, and that would really put a damper on Christmas!

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  3. A really loud horn that plays "The Friendly Beasts"!

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  4. Self-driving reindeer (surely Google is working on this), since by Christmas Eve I'm going to be very, very tired.

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  5. I'm thinking I'd need an oven full of Bennett cookies....

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  6. I love the Martin Luther story...I love that he wanted to share the nighttime wonder with his children. I thought of that vision of the twinkling stars in the evergreens as I walked tonight, but, alas, no stars, for we had a "snowy evening sky" which actually did blanket us with a slight snowy cover this morning!
    What would I want in the sleigh??? Singing companions!

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  7. My daughter Tyler invited my over to her house to help decorate and to get me out of my house for a few houses, bless her! I helped my granddaughter Emme (10) decorate a graceful bare branch with birds, butterflies,tiny ornaments , and a hot glue gun. Ben (almost 13) set up one manger scene while Ty, Emme , and I arranged the old fashioned one with all the animals and figures from the past. beloved and greeted with OOOhs and ah'a of remembrance and love when each was unwrapped and placed in the scene. We discovered that there were two baby Jesus figures, so we put them both in as "Jesi" and celebrated twice! And what would i put in the sleigh? Sorry, but it would be a big Mason jar, with a tight lid. That's a long trip Santa takes...

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  8. I woke up thinking about those "singing companions". I think they would know all of the carols from all over the world (like Infant Holy from Poland; Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella! from France; Still, Still, Still from Germany; Twas in the Moon of Wintertime from North America, etc) and as we flew, they would sing in all of the original languages, but I would miraculously be able to understand and join in on every word! Can't you just see the sleigh dancing through the heavens like a shooting star, bouncing from place to place with star sparkles glancing off in all directions as we sang our way around the world singing boldly in praise of the Christ Child?!?...and leaving gifts in SECRET!

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