Each eclectic item tells a story of our family life; just glancing around the room was a warm walk down Pratt Memory Lane…
The angel on the tree, a gift to us dating back from the ‘country décor’ era, was fashioned from quilting material. Each year one of our kids had his turn being held up by dad to place it on the treetop. This was a grand honor. (Smile.)
The two olive-wood manger scenes adorn opposite corners, reminiscent of Jon’s trip to Israel when Sarah was just 9 months old. The pieces were solid and hardy, and have taken years of abuse as the kids have used them to ‘act out’ the Christmas story (or played house w/Polly Pockets)…
The Christmas Village grew from the few houses I’d purchased to a burgeoning metropolis after my mom passed away and I received her collection. How precious are the memories of her sweet presence as I set up each piece, and then gaze often at the lighted display. (Miss you, Mom :-) The village also gets ambushed yearly by Josh’s plastic Indians, set up inside, on top and all over the multi-level display. No bloodshed, thankfully.
The Christmas tree still dons multi-colored lights as my decorating preference long ago got voted down by popular vote….no white lights until the kids are out of the house. That’s okay. There will be many years I can decorate it as I wish. If their joy in the tree is attached to multi-colored lighting, I’m good with that.
The ornaments themselves tell a story of family, activities, and living together. Star Trek ships, Twins bulbs, a treble cleff, a bulb holding funeral flower petals from my sister’s casket spray, ornaments of each of the kids birth years, an ornament of baby Jonathan’s death, a Central Seminary bulb….each brings to mind the regular events of life year after year after year…
It took quite the effort this week to ‘transform’ our home into this nostalgic, homey wonderland, and I doubt the finished product would impress anyone else. (It certainly is not dept store nor decorating magazine standard!)
Why go to the trouble? Why take the time?
(Isn’t life busy enough without the hassle, the mess, the bother?!!)
It’s the intangibles that the process and the finished product offer that make this yearly event so important to my husband and me. (And Jon is equally as involved in all the effort as I am. I’m blessed to have his helping, tireless hands in this process!)
That’s why we insist on its practice and our kids help in it.
What do we gain?
1). This family tradition brings enjoyment. We all laugh, smile, get quiet in our own memory, or point out an item to the other as we work on the several-night project together. My kids look back fondly and look forward excitedly (usually!) to this yearly practice. It is fun, and we do it together!
2) Working together deepens our relationship and fosters family unity and loyalty. Loving each other and liking each other aren’t the same thing, and each doesn’t happen magically or automatically. Sharing activities like this fosters the building blocks of family as God intended family to be.
3) Shared traditions establish deep roots and provide security. I want my kids to see our home as a place of refuge from the hard realities of the outside world. I want them to know of our unconditional love for them, and of God’s gift to them of family belonging. I believe strongly that the love in our home can be used of God to help them understand His love & that our family can help them understand being part of His family. There are both responsibilities and privileges, family is not always “Norman Rockwell picture-perfect’, but it is a place of sanctuary, encouragement, and honesty.
So, when I’m tempted to just skip (or skimp) on the Christmas traditions in our family because it is such a hassle, or I’m too busy, or whatever…
I look beyond the temporary to see the eternal.
Even tinsel can be used by God to reap life-long benefit.
What? You're one of them?! I would have taken you for a multi-color lights person!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk down Pratt Ln. I enjoyed it.