I love Christmas. It is one of my favorite times of year. All of the parties, tacky Christmas sweaters, candy canes, Christmas trees, gingerbread houses... The list goes on. In my 23 years of life Christmas has taken on many traditions. Each year I help my mom decorate the Christmas tree we look at all of the ornaments and are flooded with memories of Christmas' past. Christmas music blasts through the house or White Christmas plays in the family room while we put decorations up around the whole house instantly creating a scene that resembles a Christmas shop that sells Christmas items year round. Each year on Christmas day I open up my stocking and see a new ornament to place on the tree. Usually it represents something of significance that has happened during the past year. We have the Koch family celebration on Christmas Eve and the Harsch family feast on Christmas Day. We play games, decorate a gingerbread house, and open up our new presents. I love Christmas.
I love Christmas. During the last four years during my time at Taylor I formed new traditions. Taylor traditions. Silent Night basketball games, Candles and Carols chapel service, Christmas openhouses, Christmas pick-a-dates, and the Hallipolooza Christmas Party. I love Christmas.
However, this year is different. I still love Christmas but my surroundings are different. I'm not able to be home to decorate the Christmas tree. I'm not a Taylor dressing up in my PJs for Silent Night. Instead I'm in Colorado with two poinsettias and icicle lights around my house. My Christmas decorations sit in a box in Wheaton. I'm in the spot where I can create my own traditions now. Many of my traditions, once I have a place of my own, will include aspects of the traditions that I grew up with. Which leads me to this year.
This year, on December 1st, I started a new reading Advent plan. Each day I read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible starting the the first story and working my way through to the 25th on Christmas morning. When thinking about starting this Advent plan I thought this is something that if I were to ever have a family of my own someday I would want to do this with them. Through reading these short little Bible stories each morning I have been able to fill myself up with the simple truths of God's Word. That he sent his Son into the world to die for my sins. That he was born into a broken and sinful world and he himself remained perfect. I'm excited for this new Christmas tradition that I have started and look forward to how I will grow and learn from in during the remainder of this season as well as in Christmas' to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment