Christmas this year took a few unexpected turns.
I woke up suddenly on Christmas Eve morning with food poisoning. This was a rather unpleasant surprise, leading to much discomfort during the festivities with my family. I didn't feel much like eating, or moving for that matter. But I had fun watching my nieces and nephews open their gifts, and exclaim, "This is just what I wanted!" I enjoyed watching my grandma trying to launch wrapping paper into a laundry bin across the room missing the bin every time but repeatedly hitting my mom. I enjoyed laughing at my sister-in-law's face as her husband received Starbucks coffee with a half-naked lady on it and he exclaimed rather excitedly, "OHHH! A half-naked lady" and proceeds to sniff the package much to her dismay. It wasn't the day we all had planned (it ended early due to Grandma's tiredness and my rumbley bowels), but we all laughed and enjoyed ourselves. We created memories---I don't think I'll ever forget my brother reading the "Christmas" story out of Revelation 5. (Who knew the Christmas story had a dragon in it?)
The following day, Christmas took another unexpected turn. We received a call in the morning that Dan's Grandma D. was in the hospital. As she was putting the turkey in the oven, she had shortness of breath, dizziness and chest pains. She was rushed via ambulance to emergency, where she was cleared to return home a few hours later. But this put Christmas out of whack. Luckily, Noel put the turkey in the oven and Auntie Kathie prepared the rest of the feast. Since Grandma needed to rest a lot more, and no one really let her stand up without offering to help her do whatever she was trying to do, it turned into a different sort of Christmas. We all pitched in to help prepare the meal, clean-up (thank you boys!) and sort through all of Grandma's worries. "Did Noel put bacon on the turkey?" Yes he did! "The gifts aren't in their bags." Don't worry Grandma, no one really cares if its not put in a bag. "Are the potatoes turned on?" Yes, they have been for an hour on low. About half way through the day, Laura and I caught Grandma puttering about trying to sort through gifts and putting them into bags. We offered to help her by collecting random things throughout her house (like gift bags in the basement). But we shared a moment that sort of sums up how I feel about this Christmas. After Grandma expressed a few more worries and concerns about the gifts not being labeled and that they weren't address to people, I piped up: "That's not what matters Grandma. Its about us being together. We are just happy that you are here to celebrate with us. I think the Grinch had it right. It's not about the gifts or the food. Those things don't matter in the long run. Its about us all being together."
I think this Christmas it was really brought home that Christmas isn't about the presents or the food or the traditions. Christmas is Christmas no matter what happens. If its around a hospital bed or over a toilet, the important thing is being together to celebrate Christ's birth. When you look at Christ's birth, it had its own set of unexpectancies. Any woman would tell you that giving birth isn't the most pleasant experience and not something that would grace the front of a Hallmark card. Neither would riding on a donkey in the late stages of pregnancy be very comfortable. Or having strangers visit you after your have just given birth. But these are all things that come with Christmas. Just like sickness, death and family feuds are a part of our Christmases today.
It's not to say that Christmas is this horrible thing. Look at the focus of the Christmas story. In the midst of all of these unexpectancies is this tiny baby boy. A complete joy to his parents! Our future Saviour of the world! Just like within my own food poisoning and Grandma's health scare, I found joy and peace. I found wonderful memories. I found laughter. I found concern and gratefulness. I found servant-like attitudes and helpful hands. Within all these unexpectancies, I found the true meaning of Christmas.
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes and bags! And he puzzled three hours, 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't though of before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more." (From How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss)
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