But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)
Throughout
her life, Mary treasured up and pondered them in her heart. Mary didn’t get so
wrapped up in giving birth and taking care of this newborn child that she didn’t
bother to pay attention to what was happening around her. Of course, Mary wasn’t
going through normal, everyday events. The
child to whom she’d given birth hadn’t been conceived in the normal way. Angels
had told her He would be the Messiah. If unusual things were happening in your
life, you might pay a little better attention to them. You might treasure them
up and ponder them.
Instead,
we’re just nobodies, and it’s next Monday is just another in a long line of Christmases
followed a week later by just another New Year’s Eve. You have basically the same
meal planned, with the guestlist and the same list of people who won’t be
there. Even though pictures might be taken, there won’t really be memories of this
Christmas. At best, they’re a few memories of Christmas played over and
over, sort of like Ground Hog’s Day.
So
the questions for us to consider include
1)
What
sort of memories would I like this Christmas to include for me and everyone
else?
2)
What
can I do toward that end?
The
problem is that life is what happens while you’re making other plans. It’s not
as if you can choreograph or script the day and have everyone move and say just
as you wish. But, what do you want to remember? What do you want them to
remember. If it is the food, then focus your energy there. If it’s the gifts,
then that’s what you should spend time and effort on (though I doubt they’ll
remember how you gift-wrapped the gifts, unless you pull off some major – and probably
irritating – job. If it’s Christ’s birthday, then make that the centerpiece of
the day. You don’t have to be pushy about any of these.
And
as important as food, gifts, and the reason for the season are – and they are
– the two ideas that come to my mind as I bounce all these around like ping
pong balls, is that the thing that will most likely be remembered involves the development
of relationships between those present and God and between those present with
each other. What someone is likely to remember is the sense of being loved and –
possibly – of giving love. And while we might think that loving others is an
impromptu, natural thing, it’s often not any more natural than any other gift.
It’s easy to love some people, but kick it up a notch to make it memorable. For
others, it may take a lot of thought, and maybe asking some questions to figure
out how to do it, but that’s likely to make a holiday memorable – especially if
there’s something tangible (a note, a small gift) to go with it as a reminder
of that person’s value to you.
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