We love the holiday season because of what it means to our immediate family. Ten years ago we moved to south central Pennsylvania and discovered a part of the country that still celebrates the holidays in traditional ways. It was a pleasant surprise to find ourselves in a region where decorations were going up all over the city and people still placed candles in their windows.
Having grown up in a big city where many people, for personal safety, had stopped greeting one another with “Merry Christmas!” and the cynical air of commerce had choked out the giddy excitement of family get-togethers, I found myself a bit ashamed that I had grown so callous about Christmas.
Being in this part of the country brought back those days of growing up in the 60’s when our parents piled up their children in the family car and we drove around the city just to look at all the homes decorated with sparkling lights, along with extravagant displays on the front lawns.
However, as the years went by, people found their lawns raided and their homes vandalized. Crime began to sky-rocket in the city during the holidays until most of the lights were no longer put up and the only place to see lawn displays were the in the exclusive gated communities, which we could not enter.
Massive lay-offs and urban sprawl changed the holiday landscape until the season became, for many, just three or four weeks to endure the tension between gift-giving expectations and the fact that they had no money for anything beyond the basics: shelter, food, and heat. Christmas is a distasteful time of year for a lot of people.
However, we always had a great time in the Green household which always included getting together at grandpa and grandma’s house for a massive assembly of relatives from all sides of everyone’s families. Christmas with the Greens was like a Broadway production, only with no script or choreography. It was incredible and indescribable.
Some of the warm memories from my childhood were stirred again as we came upon our first Christmas in Pennsylvania. Since we were away from our closest friends and family, it drew us closer with our sons. We were able to spend quality time together, especially since we were aware that these would be the last of those times for us. We made a few trips back to St. Louis for the holidays, but time was dictating that a new phase of life was quickly coming to our family.
During our final Christmas together, we went to a local mall to take family photos. We told our sons this was going to be important because this would be the last time we’d be together in this way. We told them that in the future, the photos would include their wives and children. They didn’t believe us at that time, but that’s exactly what is happening.
As we come upon Christmas, tomorrow, our youngest son, David Matthew lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with Michelle, his wife of 18 months. Our middle son, Jonathan Mark, is in his final year of school and he’s only home for breaks and holidays. Our oldest son, Christopher Michael, lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is preparing to marry the love of his life, in three months.
We have wonderful Christmas memories with our children from our years in St. Louis as well as our years in Harrisburg. It’s just that the years go by so very fast and we are thankful that we made memories instead of making regrets.
We set out to be very intentional about making sure we didn’t have any regrets as parents. That doesn’t mean that we were going to be reckless and throw caution to the wind. No, that simply meant that we were going to seize the moments that God was granting us every day, every week, every month and every year with each other and with our children.
A lot of Christian Believers spend the holiday season debating about how Christmas is celebrated or even if we should celebrate it. One day they will look back and realize that they missed golden opportunities with their families and friends.
In the end, it won’t matter if whether you did or did not have gifts, toys, trees, or decorations. All that will matter is if you spent time with the ones who are dear to you. Just ask the people who are missing their loved ones during this holiday season. They’re not interested in a debate about Christmas. They would just like to be with their mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin, uncle or aunt, one more time.
So, Carol and I encourage you to stay focused on the people and things that matter most. If your family is living in three different time zones, like ours is right now, make sure you take some time to make a connection.
Immediately after the holiday, we’ll get back to our jobs and the daily task of making a living. But during this holiday we encourage you to continue in the mission and vision that God has placed in your hands; to rebuild, restore and renew hearts and homes.
May you have a safe and happy Christmas,
Chris and Carol Green
