Christmas at the Charles' house

Well I hope everyone’s Christmas was great, mine definitely was. I have spent tons of time with my family over the last couple of days and have been eating it all up. Christmas Eve is the big tradition in my family. My mom comes from a relatively large family where she has three brothers, each with kids and grandkids, so by the time we squeeze into the house for dinner, there are 23 jabbering mouths that are all really more there to entertain you than to eat your food.

After dinner, and about an hour of tracking down where everyone has spread out to, we gather in the living room for the “production.” It’s so funny that there’s always a production someone put together. One year it was that every family had to sing a song or do something entertaining (read embarrassing) for the others to laugh at. Other times someone leads Christmas carols, but then there are the mainstays. There’s the Christmas story out of Luke 2. Sometimes a child in the family, who is nervous and excited that they were chosen to read the story, reads it. Other times it is read by an adult who just about has the story memorized and barely makes it through the story while crying, partly for what advent means to us as Christians and partly because they’re moved by reading it to a room full of their family who celebrates the birth of Christ rather than capitalism, finding much deeper meaning than anything bought at Macy’s.

There’s also the part in the evening where we collectively reflect on the joys and hardships over the year. My brother and his wife lost a baby this year. My sister had a baby. My father in law resigned from the pulpit after 18 years at the same church, affecting my wife and I deeply. My cousin spent a month sharing Jesus with people in the jungles of Venezuela. All of the things that happen to us individually, whether good or bad are either celebrated or supported by a caring, loving family. I am so blessed.

This time in the evening always, always ends with a speech from my grandfather, perhaps the most selfless man I know. I don’t think I’ve ever known someone who gives a greater amount of his possessions, money, and time away. He loves it. He always has some wisdom to impart, rarely eloquent, always a little silly and full of tangents, but always applicable because his point is clear. Your life is not your own. The things you have are nothing without love. Your needs are simple and fewer than we’d like to convince ourselves.

I truly hope for you to have experiences like this. Whether it is your church family, family of origin, or just a tight group of people that you are friends with, community is a very important thing. Always take time for reflection on the deeper meaning of things and seize the opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives.

God bless, happy New Year!

Steven