The Baby Shower

When I was pregnant with our first daughter I was graciously given a couple of baby showers.   Ladies gathered, their hair done up pretty, splashed with pleasant floral smelling perfumes and dressed in pretty clothes with matching shiny bobbles.  The kind women came carrying gifts wrapped in paper printed with pastel blue, yellow and green bows and little baby footprints on it.  Tiny sandwiches and pink punch was served and then it was time for the main event -- unwrapping the big pile of gifts.

Oohs and aahs accompanied each revelation of what was in a box.  The older ladies said things like, "boy they didn't have that when my kids were born." (I now find myself in that category.)  Itty bitty dresses, shoes, onesies, receiving blankets, and hooded bath towels were neatly folded and put in a pile to be loaded up by my husband at the end of the shower.

Illustration by Julie Vivas in "The Nativity"

Among all the sweet baby things I received, someone gave me a gift I treasure to this day.  Our baby was due around Christmas time and I received a book titled, "The Nativity," illustrated by Julie Vivas.  This talented, whimsical artist showed a fresh view of the birth of Jesus.  One of my favorite pictures in the book is the shepherds peeking over the edge of the manger looking at the newborn baby.

When Jesus came, it was rough sheep herding men who were invited to the be the first visitors.  There were no baths and pretty clothes, no lotions to soften up those weathered hands.  There were no beautifully wrapped presents to welcome the baby and no cameras to record the infant's first moments, just awe and adoration. 

Isn't that the story of Christmas?-- a savior who was born under modest circumstances;  a savior who came for all people;  a savior who invites us to come as we are--rough, untidy, unkempt;  a savior who requires no gifts from us but instead gives us his gift of everlasting love.

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angels' voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born.

The Christmas Ball

Long before Photo Booth came on the scene to stretch and twist and jumble pictures, there were toasters, coffee pots, spoons and Christmas balls.  Hours of fun and entertainment have been had by youngsters staring into appliances and making faces that were returned as distorted images. 

My husband, Jim, was the youngest of five children and it seemed that his primary role in the family was to "entertain the troops."  Jim's Mom would get a little grin as she described how "Jimmy" would spend dinner staring into the coffee percolator making crazy faces that reflected back all wonky, yes wonky--the official term.   Depending on the angle, Jim's face looked a mile wide or endlessly long.  He stuck out his tongue, flattened his nose, or crossed his eyes, all with hilarious results that set his siblings into rumbles of laughter.

This year our church youth group came and decorated our Christmas tree.  The young people hung dozens of Christmas stars they had made on the tree.  They also added red and silver balls which beautifully reflected the little white lights covering the tree's branches. 

Yesterday I heard one of the balls go clunk and then I could hear the ball rolling all over our old wooden floors.  The cat had discovered a "toy" (good thing it was shatterproof) and he was having a grand old time chasing the silver ornament all over the living room and dining room.

When the noise stopped, I went to see what Teddy had been doing.  I picked up his adopted toy to return it to its rightful place on the tree.  As I lifted the ball, I caught sight of my own reflection.  "Boy, by the looks of things, I'm having a really bad day," I thought.  "Could my face be any fatter?"  "Could I be more jumbled?"  Then as I lifted the shiny ornament farther away from me, my image began to improve and I looked more normal (well as normal goes). 

That brief action sent my mind to a verse in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

Often when we are in the midst of difficult situations, we have distorted perceptions of what is happening.  We are too close to the circumstances.  But as time and distance settle in, we begin to get clarity.  The 1 Corinthians verse promises that only in God's presence in eternity will we have full understanding--all distortion and limitations will be lifted.  Our reflections will be true.

The Christmas Visit

The second year Jim was in seminary, we made the sad decision that we could not afford to travel back to be with our Ohio family for Christmas.  Jim mustered up the courage to call his mom and break the news that for the first time in our married life we would not be together over the holidays.  We all felt the sadness of us growing up and having to make sensible decisions.

At the same time we were coming to terms with our holiday plans, my father was rushed to the hospital and put in the Intensive Care Unit.  For the days before Christmas, we were on a roller coaster, wondering if Dad was going to pull through.  As soon as Jim's seminary work was complete for the semester, we traveled to New Jersey and spent hours at the hospital praying and hoping that my father would turn the corner and that he would be able to go home for Christmas, though that was not likely. 

While sitting in the hospital waiting room, Jim and I began to dream out loud.  "Wish we could go home to Ohio...we are already part way there," Jim confessed.  "I know," I said, "wouldn't it be so great to surprise them?"   We really wanted to see all our loved ones and eat Mom's roast beef, Swiss corn bake, and her homemade pumpkin pie.  We wanted to overindulge in Jim sister's assortment of handmade candies.  Jim longed to roll around with his nephew under the giant Christmas tree strung with huge red, green, yellow, and blue light bulbs.  We wished we could join his family members in serving Christmas dinner and handing out gifts to all the men that came to the Rescue Mission Jim's Dad directed.

We must have let the cat out of the bag that that was what we were thinking.  Somehow my Mom got wind of our wishes.  I guess she realized that she was not going to be home for a traditional Christmas that year and when Dad began to rally on Christmas Eve, she said, "Go to Ohio.  We'll be ok."  "Are you sure, Mom?"  "Yes, go!," she insisted.

So early in the evening, we packed up our little black dog and our suitcases and in our Dodge Dart set out to cross "the agonizing expanse" as Jim called Pennsylvania.  We drove with such joy and determination because we knew that no one expected us to pull in early on Christmas morning.  It was going to be great!!  Our adrenalin was pumping and the lack of sleep didn't seem to even enter the picture.  Driving up and down the mountains in the dark was not the easiest thing we've ever done but we did not notice because we were so wound up with excitement that we chattered away the whole ten hour trip. 

Finally at five in the morning, we pulled into "3-2-9" as we called Jim's childhood home (329 North Central Avenue).  We knew Dad would be up and so we banged on the back door until he came and unlocked the door and let us in.  Oh that astonished look of surprise on his face was worth all 500 miles we had just traveled to get home.

Once in the house, we sent Christy, our dog, upstairs to wake up Grandma.  "Christy, go get Grandma;  go on."  Christy took off running--up two flights of stairs and down the long hallway to Jim's parents' bedroom.  The next sound we heard was a delighted squeal and Jim's mom's footsteps as she raced down the stairs to see if it was true...we were really there.

Isn't this story a picture of Christmas?  Jesus so loved us that he wanted nothing more than to be with us.  He sacrificed his comforts and crossed the great expanse of time and eternity.  He entered this dark world unbeknown to most people.  But He came bringing "good news that will cause great joy for all the people."

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."  1 John 4:9