Christmastime

‘Tis the season of Christmas. Isn’t this a great time to be a child of God? The birth of Christ reminds me of so many things. I’m reminded of His purpose for taking on the robe of flesh: that he would die for my sins. I’m reminded of His love that would reach all the way through time to me. I’m reminded of his humanity and his deity.

I remember my grandfather – we called him Dado. He died several years ago and Christmas just hasn’t been the same. Dado loved his ten grandchildren. We would gather in the living room watching the Lawrence Welk Show and Hee Haw. He was the first person I knew to have a TV with a “clicker.” Just three buttons: On/Off, Channel Up, Channel Down. What would Dado think about today’s TV shows and our multi-functioning remotes?

Dado operated a dairy and farmed soybeans and cotton in Logan County. I remember the Sunday afternoon we played in the loaded cotton trailer. Our clothes were never the same. What’s left of the farm equipment sits rusting under the huge oak trees of the home place. The black-n-white cows – each with a name – are gone.

I remember the Christmas of 1975. My family had moved from Dardanelle to Bryant because my father was transferred to manage the Kroger store on Cantrell in Little Rock. We were farther from Mom (my grandmother) and Dado’s than all the others so we spent Christmas Eve night with them. We woke up on Christmas morning to the presents Santa left and about a foot of snow in yard. I can’t remember any of the presents but I remember the snow!

My mother is one of four sisters and all of them live down the same country lane in Paris. Except for us. We were in Bryant. But not for Christmas! What a time we had playing in the whitest Christmas I’ve ever seen.

I love my family. We’ve grown up and our traditions have changed, but the mention of “Mom and Dado” brings us all back together again and generates memories that too often slip way back in our minds.

Do you know what is so great about being a child of God? Just the mention of his name brings us all together. Christians are a diverse people. Even Southern Baptists have differing opinions on things. I suspect even our church family would not agree on everything.

Let’s choose to focus on what makes us a family: the love of God clearly displayed through the birth of Christ. Merry Christmas!