An LT's first Christmas

What can be said about my first LT Christmas? Life has changed; of that I am most assured. During the past several days I have remarked on separate occasions to separate people that I feel like my childhood is at an end. I am shedding my last vestiges of innocence and childhood. At least that is the way it appears. I have the beginnings of a career, I now call Texas “home,” I get paid real money, I only have so much vacation time each year, I have bills to pay and retirement to think about. These are not the things of children. They are the thoughts and actions of adults. When we are children we are so very eager to be adults; as adults we wish we could be but children again. But these are just the musings of a guy who hasn’t slept a lot lately. Back to the subject at hand, Christmas.

According to the family poll taken, this was undoubtedly the best Christmas thus far. It wasn’t because of all the great presents (though there were definitely great presents). It wasn’t because of awesome food (though the food was truly fantastic). It wasn’t the advent celebration. It was that we were all together, in the same place, for just a moment in time, and we all cherished it. As many of you know, my oldest sister moves to Kuwait on the 29th of December, 2008. Two days before that my parents and little sister flew to Europe for two and a half weeks. The day before that my second sister returned to CA with Chai. In a matter of three days my family scattered to what might as well be the ends of the earth. But we had those 24 hours together, and none of us will forget it. At least I know that I won’t. I will always remember sitting there around the patio table having breakfast outside on Christmas day (where it was like 80 degrees). I will always remember lounging around in our PJs and going to sit in the family room to open presents. I will always remember my first Texan Santa experience, sitting there as Santa, wearing both cowboy had and santa-hat. I will remember how excited my mom was by the fact that I followed in her and dad’s footsteps in my gifts. I will always remember going around the circle and spending 4 hours opening presents one by one. I will always remember sitting around the advent wreath that evening and singing Christmas carols; and I will always remember how mom made each of us our own wreaths for our own homes.

And as that day came to a close, I will always remember how we came together as a family in prayer. In fact, I will remember that probably more than anything else during my trip to FL this Christmas.

I hope to remember one other thing. I hope to remember the longing I felt, and still feel, for the coming of the Kingdom of God. We as Christians are called to long after heaven. I have never longed so deeply for the Kingdom than I have the past few weeks, and especially the past few days. I long for a time that I need say no more goodbyes. I long for the day that my family and my friends need not pray me off. I look forward to the day when it won’t hurt so badly, the day when it won’t hurt at all. Oh that God’s Kingdom will descend quickly. Can you imagine that day? Can you picture it? I can. It is a great feast. My family is there. My friends are there. My love is there. God is there. Joy, peace and love are there. Pains of the heart, the greatest pains of all, are gone. It is a glorious scene indeed. Heaven. The Kingdom. God. What more can we want? What more can we hope for? Nothing. It is here that I find hope and here that I can rest in day after day. When the sorrow or the hurt seems to great, I can find everlasting hope in the everlasting God and the hope for His future for our world.

Oh I am a man of little faith indeed. How many times must God remind me that he is faithful, that he is loving, that he makes strait my paths? Time and time again I suppose. Thank you God for continuing to show me despite my disbelief.