For nearly ten years now, I’ve felt that birthdays don’t seem as special as they used to. Easter isn’t as exciting, Halloween isn’t as thrilling, and Christmas isn’t as magical as I remember as a child.
I’m looking forward to someday having children of my own and getting to see the holidays afresh through their eyes. But in the meantime, I am blessed to volunteer with the kids ministry at church, and just my brief interactions with them have already made my holidays happier this year.
At Thanksgiving while cooking with my dad, we were watching my nieces play, and he reminded me of when my own little brother was about three. At our family Thanksgiving, Dad encouraged us to count our blessings, and my adorable little brother – with his big, brown eyes and long eyelashes – scrunched up his face in distress, his lower lip trembling. “But Dad,” he cried in his sweet little voice, “I can’t count that high!”
My Dad smiled at the retelling and admitted to me, “I still feel that way.” We are so profoundly blessed.
This past Sunday at church while teaching the elementary kids some Christmas carols, one little girl named Kennedy came and sat in my lap. Halfway through one of the songs, she turned around and told me innocently, “You’re making my eyes water.”
Surprised, I asked her why. She wiped her eyes and whispered in a broken voice, “It’s just so beautiful.”
I want to be that in awe of Christmas. Of music. Of community. Of our God. To sit in wonder – to have faith like a child – that is my prayer for this Christmas.
Authentically Aurora
Authentically Aurora 
I know exactly what you mean. I remember how the family Christmas tree towered up to the ceiling when I was little. It was truly awesome. I do feel sorry for adults who try to make their birthdays as special as a child’s birthday–I figure there should be a difference. Seeing the awe and wonder of a child at a special time does add to the experience, but it’s not the same. You are right; we should be in awe of our God and of the ways he meets us–on the holidays, among his people, and wherever he promises to be. J.
LikeLike