Christmas Reflections

Lily opened a window on her Advent calendar one day this Christmas and found the verse Isaiah 11:6. We talked about the strange image of these animals sleeping together with a little child for leader. “It’s talking about peace,” I explained. Lily was struck. She declared it to be her “new favorite verse--because I love peace.” It was a poignant moment for a child whose life had been much devoid of peace recently. 

Peace this Christmas meant being home together as a family. Peace meant having a routine. It meant gathering each night around our “Jesse tree” (a family tradition to review the Bible’s redemption story during Advent). It meant no headaches and screaming and vomiting. It meant no early morning trips to emergency, only to be told to go home and give a Tylenol. It meant no IVs and no nurse call bells and no pokes and flushes and vital sign checking. It meant Lily tolerated drinking and teeth brushing and bathing. Peace meant the simplest things, and it meant the world.

I barely did any shopping or baking or decorating or crafting or any of the usual hustle I’ve done around Christmas ever since I was eleven and awake to the drive, the search for that elusive “perfect Christmas”. I was amazed at how much rest there was in simplicity. I soaked in every moment of twinkling lights and silence and loved ones nearby, especially lily. Her bright eyes and vitality and creative spirit bathed everything with a new glow this Christmas.