Joy to the World…The happiest moment of all…over the
miles…happy with your family and friends…warmest Christmas wishes. …decorate
your holidays…brightens your new year…gingerbread wishes…Santa is good to you!
I was picking out cards for my Sunday School class of eighty to ninety year old
women. Thankfully, they let me act like the teacher but they do most of the
teaching after years of experience and knowledge.
The time of year for good cheer. Celebration.
Expectations. New life. Promise of hope. But we are not always headed to Bethlehem.
Not our year to rush to the nativity and be blinded by the wonder. We are
blinded by the loss of those we love. Sister, father, infant child. We are
stopped by new diagnosis, repeat diagnosis, anxiety over uncertainty.
One of my ladies is in the middle of such upheaval. Slow
in coming but fast in descent. After being their only ones since high school,
sixty-four years of marriage will see them parted into two living situations.
Neither one of them have ever lived alone. It will be difficult. Which card do
they get?
Some of us are running a race. Dashing. Middle of the
night. Clenching a bedrail. Heartbeat drumming in our head. Not blinking.
Standing strong. Pushing adrenaline. Focusing. Holding. Comprehending. But not
growing weary. Hanging on to stamina.
Others are not racing. The journey is long, step by
step. Avoiding the cracks. Brick by brick. Stone by stone. Lifetime. One step
forward and two steps back. Never ending. A moving horizon. Pulling a bag of
rocks. Growing strength rock by added rock. But never fainting. Just one more
step. One more word.
We think we are not going to Bethlehem. We are not into
wonder or even desiring the feel of awe in our lives. The wonder of love
brought to earth.
But we are in wonder every day. The wonder of a
healthy child. The wonder of a good, healthy outcome. The wonder of a
sixty-four year marriage. The wonder of the fit of a new job. The wonder of a
friendship with a crisp ninety-six year old woman. The wonder of a blue sky.
The wonder of a light switch. The wonder of a dog’s companionship.
Mary carried her burden over many miles, riding a donkey.
Joseph hid his anxiety over the coming birth and the future of his little
family. Shepherds grew weary working from sun up to sun up, sleeping in bits
and pieces. Heavenly hosts spread their wings. A shepherds’ reward to hear them
sing. Joy to the World.
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped
him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.” Luke 2:7
God’s gift. Jesus. Bethlehem. Full of wonder.
