Let’s Make a Baby King!

Christmas 2001 Stuart opening his Fisher Price Nativity Set from Auntie Beth and Uncle Craig.  It is still a favorite tradition to set out and let the kids touch and play with during the season all the while adsorbing the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas time is upon us! It’s amazing how the season of Christmas can make me feel all-warm inside and bubbly with joy. When I was still living at home with my parents they decided to sell their home and move to a quieter neighborhood. The real estate market was very slow at the time, and our house was on the market for months without even an offer. Then one Saturday afternoon in December, my Mom got a phone call from a realtor wanting to show our house. We were in the middle of decorating our Christmas tree, playing carols in the tape player, and brewing cider in the crock-pot, but we rushed out as fast as we could and left things just as they were. That night our house sold! My mother is sure that the reason it sold was all of the holiday ambiance. For some of us these traditions, smells, and sounds can bring us great comfort and joy, and remind us of fond family memories sometimes, without us even realizing it.

It’s easy to get caught up in celebrating the season of Christmas, and not even give a thought to what the meaning really is. I found myself, during Christmas season not long ago, driving home one night when Wynonna Judd came on my country station singing a Christmas carol. The words of the chorus went “Lets make a baby King. Let’s make him of Lord of all. Let’s give him everything. Let’s make a baby King.” That’s when it hit me that I had been so absorbed in the preparations for Christmas that I hadn’t even taken the time to reflect upon what it’s all about. Christmas is about a baby, a perfect gift of love that God gave the world.

Passing on to my child the true meaning of Christmas is important to me. We live on Christmas Tree Lane and sometimes it feels like there is a party on our street every night in December. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. However, the excitement of Christmas parties isn’t what I want to impart to my children. Rather, this is the perfect time to build the roots of faith in their hearts and to teach them the true meaning of the holiday, the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

That first Christmas, the angels told the shepherds they brought good news that would bring great joy to all men. God placed joy in the hearts of mankind that night, giving us hope by sending a savior that would rescue men from their sin and restore the relationship between God and man. It’s for this very reason we celebrate!