“To Mom: There are several things about Christmas that I have come to admire: my favourite may be the effect that the joy of the season has on Moms. This Christmas, know how much you are loved.”
My mother loves Christmas – me in the past, not so much.
When my sisters and I were kids, my mum went to England on a much-needed two-month holiday and came across these porcelain nativity sets. She was convinced that there were none of the same in South Africa and so she bought sets for each of my aunts and uncles and her friends.
These nativity sets took up so much of her luggage space that she had to leave tons of clothing behind at customs because she didn’t have the money to pay for the extra luggage.
Imagine her disappointment when she realized that the exact same nativity sets were in the front window display of a store she walked past in town once she was back and she was even more devastated when she saw that they were made in China.
All she wanted was to capture some sort of way that Christmas was celebrated in England.
The nativity set wasn’t the only thing that, despite the disappointment, went up in our home that year. There were lights, socks, and a big-bright-glittery Christmas tree. There were freshly baked cinnamon cookies, milk and a special Christmas Eve dinner.
My young self was appalled. Why all of the fuss? Why put up a tree if it’s just going to stay up until February? What if I don’t have money to buy a gift? – And other questions that render themselves useless when trying to contend with the force of a determined mother…
A lot of the aforementioned have long since become tradition in our home – and I’m thankful for it. So thankful in fact, that I’ve started to look forward to them…
I’ve also met a lot more people who can corroborate my theory that there’s something about the way that Mother’s LOVE CHRISTMAS (and gifts and decorating and food and friends and and…)
MOTHER’S – GOD’S SPECIAL CONNECTORS!
“So here, finally, is the story of the birth of Jesus the Anointed (it is quite a remarkable story): Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, son of David. They hadn’t married. And yet, some time well before their wedding date, Mary learned that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit… And when the baby was born, Joseph named Him Jesus, Saviour. Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph and Jesus: ‘A virgin will conceive and bear a Son and his name will be Immanuel (which is a Hebrew name that means “God with Us”)’
Matthew 1:18-25 (THE VOICE)
The whole point of Jesus coming to earth was connection. Jesus came to restore the broken telephone between God, His father, and us. How else could Jesus truly be “God With Us,” if He didn’t walk on the earth and experience all that we as humans experience today?
Mary was chosen as the vessel of that connection, because there is no greater connection or bond than the one between a mother and her child. Imagine the joy!
Today, in an age where people pay for hugs (go to Asia and you’ll find that), have broken down and desecrated what God originally intended to be family, build totally insane and unrealistic social media personas, meaningful connection is what the world craves most!
I mean, a little less than a week ago, in the US, a non-profit organisation was launched called “Orphan Christmas” . The NPO has a service called “Tinder For Christmas” where people can link up to other people (strangers) to have a Christmas with some sort of “meaningful connection”. “Christmas is about meaningful connections,” says Professor McEvoy in the article, and goes on to say that these platforms help alleviate the needs for interaction and engagement….
Really?
We can try all we like to devise beautifully creative plans to fill our lives with meaning and purpose but I’m inclined to think that none of it will work.
The need for the REAL CONNECTOR is more and more imminent and just like animals can smell and sense the danger of a tsunami from far away; Mother’s innately understand the reason for the season: Jesus’ plan for joy and hope and wholeness.
This God made us in all our diversity from one original person, allowing each culture to have its own time to develop, giving each its own place to live and thrive in its distinct ways. His purpose in all this was that people of every culture and religion would search for this ultimate God, grope for Him in the darkness, as it were, hoping to find Him. Yet, in truth, God is not far from any of us. For you know the saying, “We live in God; we move in God; we exist in God.” And still another said, “We are indeed God’s children.”
Acts 17: 26-28 (The Voice)
Why search on social media for a connection when you can swipe right, on the right connector? Or, in this case, if you would like to know more, click on the banner below?