Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has always been a special time for me.  I remember sitting next to my dad during the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church when I was small.  Usually I would fall asleep during the sermon but would always wake up for the candle lighting time when the lights were all turned off and the church was lit by hundreds of candles why we sang ‘Silent Night’.  It was a memory burned into my heart for a lifetime.

I miss being with my own family and especially my wife this Christmas Eve.  Last year her and I were also apart from my kids when we had to go to California to be with mom as she encountered her own life changing events.  I was glad I did as that was my last Christmas with mom; a reminder that life is always too short and underplanned.  I miss her much more than I thought I would.

This year I spent the evening with a group of new friends singing carols in a frigid tent due to the AC being set too low.  Representatives from Ecuador, Finland, Canada, England, Haiti, and the United States sang in different languages the common songs that unite us as Christians.  Everyone, wrapped in blankets and shivering much like a snowy Christmas Eve in the States, joined with voice and laughter to replace our blood relatives for the evening and become a chorus of one before the Lord, the purpose for our gathering.  A reading from Luke on the helipad under the blazing stars finished the evening with everyone passing out Christmas wishes and hugs.

Like last year, this will be a special time of remembrance. 

It also will put remembrance in me to hold dear the times I have with my own family, especially at this time of year when the commonality of not just our blood joins us, but also the commonality of our faith in Jesus that reminds us that He pulled us together as a family under his shadow for all eternity.  That makes this Christmas Eve time special. 

And I thank the Lord with all my heart.