Christmas musings

Well, I went home to NY to see the family for Christmas. It was a nice trip. It was good to see everyone and get to hang out a little and chat. There are now four kids running around. If Matt & Trish had been there it would have been six. So crazy how the family grows. Joey (my cousin’s son) is getting so big, as are Ryan, Kayli and Rhea (my sister’s kids). Time flies by so fast.

I was reflecting as I drove home listening to Prairie Home Companion. I haven’t felt much in the mood for Christmas this year. I think I missed the spirituality I used to feel during this time of year. All the commercialism and politics have soured this time of year for me. And now it’s like it’s almost against the law to say the word Christmas anymore since all the supposedly politically correct left wing factions have begun to flex their mouth muscles. Everyone is so afraid to do anything that remotely mentions Jesus that we have to resort to such bland sayings as “Happy Holidays” and “the day after Giving.” I actually heard an NPR commentator use those words.

So as I drove down the road listening to Garrison Keillor (a liberal who thankfully has NOT forgotten the meaning of Christmas) singing Silent Night in his deep voice, I thought of the night long ago � a still night with a star-filled sky � when Jesus came to this earth as a baby and became one of us for a while. I thought of the shepherds on the hill who got a startling announcement that broke the silence that a King had been born. And even if December 25th isn’t the day He was actually born, it is the day that all of us used to stop the frenetic pace of life and reflect. To pause for a moment and look up, see the stars and enjoy a quiet walk down the snowy lane, and remember that it was a silent night long ago that our Savior entered this world.