Home for Christmas 12-4-2003
Advent – the time of preparation.
Christmas carols and hymns fill the car these days as I play my CDs and listen to the all-Christmas, all-the-time radio station. It seems as though many of the Christmas carols have home and homecoming as a theme. “I’ll be Home for Christmas” sums up many of the feelings people have for the holidays – Christmas is a time to return home – to go back to the times when one felt most loved.
The Christmases of my youth are remembered with a smile on my lips and a warmth in my heart. We would wake on Christmas morning to a quiet house and colorful presents under a beautiful tree. I remember my brother Randy wanted a dump truck – he received 12. The Hopalong Cassidy outfit I received from my Godfather was awesome. (It was complete with pants, shirt, hat, cap guns and boots.) Mom’s cooking filled the house with wonderful scents when we opened the door after church service. It was a time for love and hugs. The presents, the meal, the hugs, the decorations all fade in memory, but the warm feeling of being loved lasts.
The Christmases of my adult life are filled with mixed emotions. The joy of seeing our children’s faces as they opened their gifts, enjoyed their Momma’s cooking, were hugged and loved is balanced with other Christmas memories. Bunny and I spent Christmas with her folks in 1969. That was the last Christmas we were able to spend with the two of them. Dad Conrad was called home to heaven the following fall and Mom Conrad a year later. Christmas 1981 is remembered with Bunny comforting 2-week-old Russell as he lay in his incubator in the hospital under the Bilirubin lights. The tape used to close his eyes caused his skin to burn. His small hands searched for the warmth of his Mommy’s face as she held him close to her and tried to ease his pain.
Bobby playing the keyboard and Russell, Richie and Becky joining me to sing Christmas carols to Bunny as she received her first chemo treatment – Christmas presents brought to the hospital for Mom Cohrs days before she was called home to heaven are memories that will be with me forever.
Yes, I do long to be home for Christmas – even in my dreams. I long for the Christmas home of my youth and look forward to the Christmas home of today. I long to be home for the eternal Christmas. Our parents are gazing on the face of Jesus, are basking in His love, and are free from the sin of this world. That is a wonderful home. I prepare for His birth and long for His coming.
Christmas carols and hymns fill the car these days as I play my CDs and listen to the all-Christmas, all-the-time radio station. It seems as though many of the Christmas carols have home and homecoming as a theme. “I’ll be Home for Christmas” sums up many of the feelings people have for the holidays – Christmas is a time to return home – to go back to the times when one felt most loved.
The Christmases of my youth are remembered with a smile on my lips and a warmth in my heart. We would wake on Christmas morning to a quiet house and colorful presents under a beautiful tree. I remember my brother Randy wanted a dump truck – he received 12. The Hopalong Cassidy outfit I received from my Godfather was awesome. (It was complete with pants, shirt, hat, cap guns and boots.) Mom’s cooking filled the house with wonderful scents when we opened the door after church service. It was a time for love and hugs. The presents, the meal, the hugs, the decorations all fade in memory, but the warm feeling of being loved lasts.
The Christmases of my adult life are filled with mixed emotions. The joy of seeing our children’s faces as they opened their gifts, enjoyed their Momma’s cooking, were hugged and loved is balanced with other Christmas memories. Bunny and I spent Christmas with her folks in 1969. That was the last Christmas we were able to spend with the two of them. Dad Conrad was called home to heaven the following fall and Mom Conrad a year later. Christmas 1981 is remembered with Bunny comforting 2-week-old Russell as he lay in his incubator in the hospital under the Bilirubin lights. The tape used to close his eyes caused his skin to burn. His small hands searched for the warmth of his Mommy’s face as she held him close to her and tried to ease his pain.
Bobby playing the keyboard and Russell, Richie and Becky joining me to sing Christmas carols to Bunny as she received her first chemo treatment – Christmas presents brought to the hospital for Mom Cohrs days before she was called home to heaven are memories that will be with me forever.
Yes, I do long to be home for Christmas – even in my dreams. I long for the Christmas home of my youth and look forward to the Christmas home of today. I long to be home for the eternal Christmas. Our parents are gazing on the face of Jesus, are basking in His love, and are free from the sin of this world. That is a wonderful home. I prepare for His birth and long for His coming.
Christmas Peace? 12-11-2003
Advent – the time of peace.
Dad was a great proponent of experiencing the world. The family would pile into the 1952 Ford and Dad would lead us on an adventure. We would visit the places we could get to and return from in one day. When we lived in Chicago, we visited Rockford and Wisconsin Dells. When we lived in New York, we visited Manhattan, Jones Beach and the Hudson River Valley area. The kids never knew exactly where we would end up – only that it would be special. Dad was in charge and we had no fears.
When we had our own children, Bunny and I would take them on trips of discovery. As the Dad, I would be the one to be concerned about the destination, the food, the gas money, and other such details. (Bunny was a big helper in all of the preparations.) The children could travel with no fears. Whenever we would visit Mom and Dad and travel with them, I reverted back to the childhood time of peace. Dad was there – there were no problems that he and I could not handle together. (We also had the two Moms for support and advice.)
Now we are celebrating the season of Peace. A fellow Lutheran educator just informed me that his wife is recovering from cancer surgery and is starting her chemo treatments. Bunny tells me that a student is now living with her grandmother due to her parents being sentenced to jail. Several students are sitting vigil at their grandfather’s beside as he faces the end of his life. A co-worker was called to his Dad’s hospital bedside after his Dad suffered a complication from bypass surgery. Each morning I hear traffic reports of accidents with injuries, stalls, and congestion. Students are tired as they struggle with balancing homework assignments with basketball games, hockey games and Christmas programs. Parishioners are torn between attending Wednesday night service or fighting the crowd in the store. Teachers fight the clock trying to present meaningful lessons. Spouses argue over decorations, presents, and finances.
Sometimes our childhood trips were longer than three boys in the back seat could endure. Arguments would break out over how much seat each boy could occupy, where the lines were drawn and how many touches were allowed. Dad or Mom would settle controversies and secretly smile as they realized how trivial the arguments really were compared to the joy of the final destination. Our sufferings on this earth are trivial when compared to the joy of the final destination. The cancer, the rejection, the suffering, the grief, the anger, the tensions, the guilt and the pain will all disappear – as if they never happened. Heaven offers eternal Peace. As a small boy in the back seat of a 1952 Ford, I experienced a small taste of this Peace. Dad was in control. As a Dad, I glimpse this Peace as I see my worst problems disappear – my fears for naught, my worries over the trivial disappear. My Heavenly Daddy is in control. His Son gives me Peace.
Dad was a great proponent of experiencing the world. The family would pile into the 1952 Ford and Dad would lead us on an adventure. We would visit the places we could get to and return from in one day. When we lived in Chicago, we visited Rockford and Wisconsin Dells. When we lived in New York, we visited Manhattan, Jones Beach and the Hudson River Valley area. The kids never knew exactly where we would end up – only that it would be special. Dad was in charge and we had no fears.
When we had our own children, Bunny and I would take them on trips of discovery. As the Dad, I would be the one to be concerned about the destination, the food, the gas money, and other such details. (Bunny was a big helper in all of the preparations.) The children could travel with no fears. Whenever we would visit Mom and Dad and travel with them, I reverted back to the childhood time of peace. Dad was there – there were no problems that he and I could not handle together. (We also had the two Moms for support and advice.)
Now we are celebrating the season of Peace. A fellow Lutheran educator just informed me that his wife is recovering from cancer surgery and is starting her chemo treatments. Bunny tells me that a student is now living with her grandmother due to her parents being sentenced to jail. Several students are sitting vigil at their grandfather’s beside as he faces the end of his life. A co-worker was called to his Dad’s hospital bedside after his Dad suffered a complication from bypass surgery. Each morning I hear traffic reports of accidents with injuries, stalls, and congestion. Students are tired as they struggle with balancing homework assignments with basketball games, hockey games and Christmas programs. Parishioners are torn between attending Wednesday night service or fighting the crowd in the store. Teachers fight the clock trying to present meaningful lessons. Spouses argue over decorations, presents, and finances.
Sometimes our childhood trips were longer than three boys in the back seat could endure. Arguments would break out over how much seat each boy could occupy, where the lines were drawn and how many touches were allowed. Dad or Mom would settle controversies and secretly smile as they realized how trivial the arguments really were compared to the joy of the final destination. Our sufferings on this earth are trivial when compared to the joy of the final destination. The cancer, the rejection, the suffering, the grief, the anger, the tensions, the guilt and the pain will all disappear – as if they never happened. Heaven offers eternal Peace. As a small boy in the back seat of a 1952 Ford, I experienced a small taste of this Peace. Dad was in control. As a Dad, I glimpse this Peace as I see my worst problems disappear – my fears for naught, my worries over the trivial disappear. My Heavenly Daddy is in control. His Son gives me Peace.
Christmas Time 12-18-2003
Advent – the time of waiting.
It seems that I spend 9/10th of my life waiting for an event to happen and 1/10th experiencing the event. For example,
The time waiting in the emergency room for an examination = forever
The time the doctor spends in examination = minutes
The time between the announcement, “We are going to have a baby,” and the baby’s birth = forever
The time between the birth of the baby and the time the baby moves out of the house = minutes
The time waiting for the car to be repaired after hitting a deer = forever
The time it took to hit the deer = seconds
The time waiting for the child to take her first unaided steps = forever
The time it takes for her to run off to school = seconds
The time waiting for the radio announcer to announce that my school is closed due to snow = forever
The time playing in the snow because school was cancelled = seconds
The drive home after work to see our child start for the first time on the school’s basketball team = forever
The drive home after work to do chores = minutes
The time waiting for the report from the surgeon as he operates on a loved one = forever
The announcement that all is well = one second
The time waiting for the school bell to dismiss classes so that I can run home and show Mom the “A” I earned on a spelling test = forever
The time basking in the glow of an “A” = seconds
The time spent smelling the meal being prepared = forever
The time to eat the meal = seconds
The time spent preparing the house, the gifts and the meal for the celebration of Christmas = forever
The Christmas Day celebration = seconds
Time is relative. The more important the event, the greater the anticipation, the longer the wait seems. Christmas is one of those types of events. We spend months– or weeks – or (for some males) hours in preparation for a one-day event. Yet it is perhaps one of the most important celebrations in our lives. When I was a child, it was the day of presents, family and fun. It was the one day of the year when everything was just perfect! The amount of presents didn’t matter as much as the presence of family. Dad and Mom both were home – all day. There were Grandparents to visit, cousins to play with, and Aunts and Uncles to enjoy. There was no fighting among the kids and no harsh words from the adults. We basked in the joy and the peace.
Christmas as an adult contains all of the wonder, joy and delight I had as a child. Yet, Christmas now means that I am that much closer to my ultimate gift – Heavenly Joy and Peace. Every gift – every ornament – every decoration reminds me of the gift given to me through the Babe of Bethlehem. His gift is one that will last forever.
My time on earth = seconds
My time in heaven = forever
May the Babe of Bethlehem fill your world with Joy and Peace.
It seems that I spend 9/10th of my life waiting for an event to happen and 1/10th experiencing the event. For example,
The time waiting in the emergency room for an examination = forever
The time the doctor spends in examination = minutes
The time between the announcement, “We are going to have a baby,” and the baby’s birth = forever
The time between the birth of the baby and the time the baby moves out of the house = minutes
The time waiting for the car to be repaired after hitting a deer = forever
The time it took to hit the deer = seconds
The time waiting for the child to take her first unaided steps = forever
The time it takes for her to run off to school = seconds
The time waiting for the radio announcer to announce that my school is closed due to snow = forever
The time playing in the snow because school was cancelled = seconds
The drive home after work to see our child start for the first time on the school’s basketball team = forever
The drive home after work to do chores = minutes
The time waiting for the report from the surgeon as he operates on a loved one = forever
The announcement that all is well = one second
The time waiting for the school bell to dismiss classes so that I can run home and show Mom the “A” I earned on a spelling test = forever
The time basking in the glow of an “A” = seconds
The time spent smelling the meal being prepared = forever
The time to eat the meal = seconds
The time spent preparing the house, the gifts and the meal for the celebration of Christmas = forever
The Christmas Day celebration = seconds
Time is relative. The more important the event, the greater the anticipation, the longer the wait seems. Christmas is one of those types of events. We spend months– or weeks – or (for some males) hours in preparation for a one-day event. Yet it is perhaps one of the most important celebrations in our lives. When I was a child, it was the day of presents, family and fun. It was the one day of the year when everything was just perfect! The amount of presents didn’t matter as much as the presence of family. Dad and Mom both were home – all day. There were Grandparents to visit, cousins to play with, and Aunts and Uncles to enjoy. There was no fighting among the kids and no harsh words from the adults. We basked in the joy and the peace.
Christmas as an adult contains all of the wonder, joy and delight I had as a child. Yet, Christmas now means that I am that much closer to my ultimate gift – Heavenly Joy and Peace. Every gift – every ornament – every decoration reminds me of the gift given to me through the Babe of Bethlehem. His gift is one that will last forever.
My time on earth = seconds
My time in heaven = forever
May the Babe of Bethlehem fill your world with Joy and Peace.
