Decking the Halls

The Christmas reading for yesterday was Exodus 25. In this chapter, God gives detailed instructions for decorating the Tabernacle that would be the Lord's dwelling place. As the additional reading points out, all of those details must have had a purpose. They may have been symbolic, they may have been designed to remind the people of God's promises.

How do we decorate for the holidays? Or, more to the point, why do we decorate? Is it simply so that it will "feel like the holidays" around our homes? I have to admit that yes, that is definitely part of why I like to decorate immediately after Thanksgiving.

This year, obviously, we could not do much decorating since we are in the process of moving. In fact, we just took down what little decorations we had up and put them in boxes. But as soon as we get to the new house, you can bet those decorations will go right back up. My favorite thing that we put up is our Nativity. It looks so pretty and fancy, but really, we got all of the pieces individually at the dollar store. I love how Ophelia likes to point out Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.

We used to relegate the Nativity to a table or a back room. Now that we have (and will have at the new house) a mantle above the fireplace, it is the perfect place to display the representation of what this Season is truly about. We've been reading books to Ophelia about Christmas - how it is Jesus' birthday, and Jesus is God's gift to us. In the coming years, I hope to be more thoughtful with our Christmas decorations, and use them not only to get in the "holiday spirit," but also to celebrate the blessing that God gave to us through Jesus.

A Time to Wait

I'm taking a break from my "regular" reading schedule (ha!) to do a short study in celebration of the Christmas season. The verses for today are Luke 2:21-40. In them, Simeon and Anna are both, separately, awaiting the arrival of Jesus in the Temple. The Holy Spirit said (does the Holy Spirit say things? Luke says it revealed) to Simeon that he would live to see Jesus. Based on this, Simeon waited for that day to come, and rejoiced in the Spirit's promise.

We have been waiting for a long time. Waiting for me to finish school - that took two years longer than it normally does. Waiting for Ophelia to finally get here - that may have only been nine months but it was a really long nine months. Waiting for me to pass the bar exam - we knew when we would find out but time moved extra slow while we waited to see if I had passed. Waiting for me to pass the background check - this wait was particularly grueling since we were fairly sure of the outcome, but it was not a guarantee. Waiting to see the new Harry Potter movie - a fun wait, but still a wait. Waiting to find out if we got the house that we wanted in our new city. And now waiting to move, to start a new job.

We are always waiting, waiting, waiting...for life to settle down, for life to speed up. But none of our waiting really compares to the waiting of Simeon and Anna. They sat in the Temple and waited for their Savior. They simply waited, knowing and having the utmost faith that He would be there, some day.

Every night we say prayers with Ophelia. We thank Jesus for a fun day, and for our friends and family. Sometimes we thank Him for chocolate milk, or for Christmas tree lights, or for socks. We also have been reading at least one Christmas book to her every day. She doesn't yet understand the fact that she is - we all are - waiting for Christmas. But I am happy that, at two, the first thing she knows about Christmas is Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, where they had Jesus.

It is fitting that this new, huge transition in our lives comes with Christmas. Christmas is often celebrated as a time to be thankful, a time to show our love in the form of gifts and time. This Christmas, as we make a huge change and leave the city that we have grown up in, I want us to remember that this season began as the ultimate wait - the wait for Jesus, the Messiah.