I’ve been thinking about one Christmas Eve as a young girl. Our family had attended church that evening and returned home for our Christmas dinner… a buffet of once-a-year finger foods followed by an enormous platter of homemade cookies.
We had settled into our living room where fragrant pine filled the air. Our Christmas tree was lit up with large, brightly-colored bulbs and decorated with tinsel and ornaments gifted through the years. At the base of the tree was a nativity scene surrounded by presents—so many that some had to be stacked on top of others. Not that we had a lot of money, but there were always enough gifts - many handmade - so that each person felt abundantly blessed. Before we opened a single one, my Dad read aloud the Christmas story from Luke, chapter two. He concluded with,
“…Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” - Luke 2:19
A hush fell over the room for a moment and then one by one we began opening gifts.
As kids, we were bursting with delight from one present to the next. It seemed as perfect as a night could be. Then, in the midst of the holiday hubbub, my mom suddenly asked, “Where’s Dad?” And we all paused as we noticed he had left the room. Moments later mom found him quietly sitting in the adjacent den with a large, contented smile across his face. He had slipped away from all the Christmas commotion, to listen and savor the joyous noise from the next room. The laughter. The ripping of wrapping paper. The squeals of excitement. The clamor of family. The sounds of love.
My Dad was a man of deep faith. He was thankful for all God had given him and he cultivated a spirit of gratitude because of it. Like Mary in the Christmas story, he pondered many things in his heart. I believe that’s what he was doing as he took a step back from our family event…pondering the fulness of family, the goodness of God, the plenty, the love.
As we celebrate the birth of our Savior and try to understand the depth of love God had for us in that act alone, let’s try to steal away, if even just mentally, to breathe in the abundance of the season and all that God has given us. And may we hold these treasures we find as the true gifts of Christmas and, like Mary, ponder them in our hearts.