We’ve been sick a lot this year. Leading up to Christmas, we had “the big germ.” Of course, we couldn’t all manage to get it at once, so it was just quarantine after quarantine after quarantine.
As Christmas was getting closer, I was starting to feel pretty gloomy. Tadpole missed every single day of preschool in December. He didn’t get to do any Christmas crafts or sing any Christmas songs with his friends. We weren’t able to go to church and worship. We couldn’t exchange gifts or… you get the idea.
Now believe me, I did my best to get us in the holiday spirit. We did crafts and baked cookies. We tried different Christmas traditions from around the world and The Frog played a lot of Christmas music on the piano for us, but it just wasn’t the same. We were missing the people.
Finally, just a few days before Christmas, we were done with our isolation. When Tadpole got his negative test he ran up to The Frog and said, “Dad! I’m alright! Grandma is going to miss me for zero days now!”
It’s not gifts that make it feel like Christmas. It’s not the tree, the music, or even the lights. It’s being together. It’s loving each other, and of course it’s remembering Jesus Christ. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by those I love and to know I’m not alone.
I’m grateful that a couple of thousands of years ago a little baby was born. Mary and Joseph must have felt pretty alone out in that stable, but suddenly there were shepherds there, reminding them that even at the hardest of times, God is aware of us.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas. May your new year bring health and happiness and family.
