warning:
I wrote this extremely early.
I'm not good with grammar or spelling at the best of times, let alone on 3 hours sleep.
I apologize for the errors that might be present.
hello there,
It's 4:46 am.
The year is 2014.
The day, Thursday.
The date is December 25.
Today is Christmas Day.
Today is the first time in 23
years that I won't be spending Christmas morning with my family.
And I couldn't be happier about
that.
I'm sitting alone in an office
where not a creature is stirring, except perhaps me. My sister, brother-in-law,
and nephew are 396 kilometres away. My parents are at home by themselves. They
will be spending Christmas morning without any of their children for the first
time since my sister was born 25 years ago.
And I can't even begin to express
to you how blessed I am.
I know you probably think I'm a
terrible person, my family isn't together for Christmas morning, and I'm happy about
it. Or, perhaps you're jealous of me and there's nothing you wouldn't give not
to spend Christmas without your family. Well, I don't think I'm
a terrible person and it's not that I don't want to spend Christmas morning
with my family, it's just that I'm not going to be. I'm a family girl through
and through. "Home body" to a fault perhaps. I'm 23 years old, I
still live with my parents, and I want to. I see my sister,
brother-in-law, and nephew at least seven times a week. To say
we're a tight knit family would be an understatement.
So, why am I happy that we aren't
together?
When I took my job 5 months ago, yes, job,
that office I'm sitting in is at work, I knew I would be working Christmas Day.
I was okay with that, not because I valued the money or like to put work before
my family. I was okay with that because I've realized as I get older, December
25 is a just a date.
*gasps*
*jaws drop*
heathen!
Let me explain. December 25
happens to be the day chosen to celebrate Christmas. But Christmas isn't just a
date on the calendar. Not only is Christmas a season, it's a lifestyle.
Christmas is the time where we reflect on what God did for us when he sent his
one and only son to be born, a baby, in the flesh, pure and innocent, perfect
and holy, lying in a manger, awaiting the day where he would knowingly die; die
so that we may live. But as Christians, Christmas isn't the only time God's
blessing us with this promise, God has blessed us for all of eternity.
10 years ago if you had told me
my sister would be married and visiting her in laws at Christmas, the thought
of spending Christmas without her probably would have made me cry. If you had
told me that I wouldn't even spend Christmas morning with my parents, I would
have been devastated. If you had told me I would have to wait till December 29
to open presents I would have been frustrated. 10 years ago if you had told me
I would be working on Christmas Day I would have called you a liar.
But it's not 10 years ago. So,
today I will tell you how I really feel. I'm happy, no, I am blessed to have been given a
brother that fits perfectly into my family and who loves my sister the way God
asks a husband to love his wife. I am eternally grateful that my sister has the
most wonderful family that loves her and has always welcomed her (I’m jealous
that they have snow where they are…). I'm grateful beyond words that I have the
most beautiful nephew in the whole world. I'm blessed to have two healthy,
happy, loving parents who support me and cherish me. I'm so, so, so, so,
blessed to have a job where on Christmas morning I get to show the love of
Jesus to teenagers who don't have anyone else to spend Christmas morning with.
Of course, I wish there wasn't a need for a job like mine, but unfortunately
there is, and because of that I thank God for blessing me with the privilege of
working this Christmas Day.
Because Christmas is about Jesus.
And Jesus doesn't care how many Christmas presents are under the tree.
Christmas isn't about how much food is on the table or how many family members
you can squeeze into one room. Christmas isn't about December 25. Christmas is
about Jesus. Christmas is about love. Jesus isn’t just the reason for the
season, he’s the reason for every season; the reason we’re alive. So, sometimes
families won't be together but that doesn't always mean there's no love.
Sometimes we'll have to work at 4:00 am on Christmas morning and spend it with
kids we hardly know. Sometimes we'll burn the marshmallows on the sweet
potatoes or forget to put the turkey in the oven on time.
You see, I'm okay not spending
Christmas morning with my family because I know at the end of my shift I have a
family to go home to, because I know God has blessed we with this job and this
is where he wants me to be, because even though I won't see my sister today, or
tomorrow, or the day after that I still get to have Christmas.
I know my nephew won't love the
present I got him any less when he gets it five days from now than he would if
he got it today. I know my life won't be any different, and I won't be deprived
of anything, by having to wait a few extra days to open gifts. The French toast
won't taste any duller than it would of had my mom made it today for us to all
eat, in fact, I think it will taste just that much sweeter a few days from now.
And I know my family doesn’t love each other any less because we’re not
together.
We get so caught up in the day,
and the older we get the harder it becomes to spend Christmas as a family when
we start introducing in-laws and jobs. Perhaps your Christmas this year is
everything you ever hoped it would, maybe it's the worst Christmas you have
ever had. Maybe your family isn't together this Christmas, maybe you don't even
have a family to spend Christmas with. But Jesus didn't come down as baby so we
could celebrate Christmas, he came so that we may celebrate life, celebrate
him. The whole reason for Christmas wasn't for one day, it was for eternity.
So, I'm okay with not spending
Christmas morning with my family because I now know being a Christian means
that every morning is Christmas morning.
-m.o