CHRISTMAS EVE MEDITATION

Another year has gone by and once again I find myself sitting on my couch just before midnight enjoying the quiet before the storm.  I love this time on Christmas Eve and look forward to it every year. Both Karen and the Wonder Dog are asleep and one of them is snoring. For the record I think it’s the dog since I’ve been told that proper southern ladies do NOT snore. Izzy the cat is curled up next to me sleeping as well. The lights on the Christmas tree glow with an intensity only found on Christmas Eve. By this time tomorrow the lights and ornaments will have lost some of their luster.

As always, Karen and I attended the candle light service at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church. I look forward to this service every year, and not just because of the warm Christmas ambience.  You see, every year on Christmas Eve I get to spend time with my sainted grandmother Alice. When I was young, Alice would accompany us to church on Christmas Eve. Every year I would stand with her while she sang O Come All Ye Faithful as the choir processed into the sanctuary, her voice strong and vibrant in the early years but becoming less so over time. Now, years after her death, I leave room for her in the pew next to me on Christmas Eve. Without fail, she joins me to sing that timeless hymn. Tonight, I felt her presence next to me again and, at least for a little while, i was transformed into that little boy holding my grandmother’s hand and singing along with her.

Lately I’ve noticed that time appears to be speeding up.  The years that once dragged on when I was young now flash by. And with each passing year I get a little slower, I have a little less stamina, my eyesight is a little less acute, and sometimes familiar words and names elude me. Such is the way of things I guess. But I no longer fear the passing of my time on this Earth.

This coming year is going to be a year of changes for Karen and me. We have a lot of balls in the air and really don’t know where they’re all going to land. But regardless of life’s uncertainties, I can look forward to next Christmas Eve and spending another evening with Alice. Her faithful presence reminds me that I will be reunited with her again one day, along with family and friends who have passed on over the years. And this is the hope and promise of Christmas, a hope born into this world on a winter night long ago and far away.

So merry Christmas my friends! Keep the gift of Christmas in your hearts and lives throughout the coming year.

Your friend always,

Chris