What is Your Christmas Story?

What is your personal Christmas story? I am referring to a memory from a Christmas past, as opposed to the events surrounding our Savior's birth. From my perspective Jesus coming into the world as an infant born to a virgin is much more than a story. That's "The Christmas Miracle."

My mind is flooded with memories of Christmases pasts. One of my earliest memories happened when I was a child of probably four or five. I guess I had an angelic singing voice in those days, at least in the mind of my grandmother who had connections with the Sunday school superintendent. I was picked to sin a solo, the second verse of Away in the Manger, in the children's Christmas service at our church. My great grandmother had died earlier that year. As a motivation, my grandmother told me to sing loud so that Great Grandma Schild could hear me. I spent my entire time in the spotlight focused on the church balcony searching for my great grandmother's face. I guess I assumed since she was in heaven she had to be watching from someplace above.

I remember Christmas concerts at our church, St. James Lutheran Church in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Our choir director, Carl Munzel, was a stern disciplinarian. I sang in the children's choir. We spent months preparing our three pieces. It was always three, the Trinitarian number. I recall one concert taking my place in the second row only to look out and see Miss Ketry, my 5th grade teacher, sitting in the front row. What was she doing there? I went to a public school. Such a mean-spirited tormentor of children had no business in any church, especially mine. I guess somewhere along the line I acquired a concept of the Gospel to go with my youthful legalism. Miss Ketry needed to hear the Good News just like I did.

I have so many memories of Christmas from my youth. Church and family were always in the middle of it. Those are the stories that I have shared with our children. Now they enjoy telling stories about our family's celebration of our Lord's Nativity. Many of the ornaments on our tree have individual stories behind them. Many represent significant events in our lives, others are gifts from friends. Some were lovingly made by our kids as pre-schoolers. Each year one of the first things our children look for is the Magi. In the manger scene under our tree the Magi don't arrive until Epiphany. Each year they take a different route to get there, moving closer each day. At this moment they are journeying across the mantel. Oh, and Jesus is hidden too. He appears between Mary and Joseph on Christmas Eve.

I am sure your family has traditions as well. You will probably create some new memories this Christmas, but take time to share memories of Christmases past too. That's your heritage of faith, the legacy you need to pass on to the next generation. We have a Savior. He came in the form of a baby, The Son of God who came into the world to save us from our sins. That's much more than a story. It's our Christmas miracle.