Christmas and the end of 2010

In so many ways Christmas whirled on by and now I recognize that this whole year has done the same thing. It's hard to believe that 2010 has come and almost gone. This time one year ago I was in Switzerland with friends who welcomed me in as family. I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration with them and then rung in the new year atop a castle with friends and strangers.

Some of the Germans I was with that night taught me that the first song you hear on the radio after the new year has begun is your "song for the year". So, for at least five girls Van Halen's JUMP was the song for 2010. The chorus says, "Ah, Might as well jump. Jump! Might as well jump. Go ahead, jump. Jump! Go ahead, jump." I never expected for it to be so fitting. For at least three of us, the year has held some significant changes in our lives. We jumped - in our own way. We jumped multiple times and some of those jumps are still happening; we are still waiting to see how we land, hoping, once again, not to break an ankle in the process.

My biggest "jump" this year, I'd say, was the one across the big pond. I have thoroughly enjoyed being home, and all over this country. I've been in more than 20 states in the 6 months I've been home and I've soaked in the journey. I've gotten to reconnect with family and friends and make new ones.

As I fast forward through the year, I pause over the recently passed Christmas. While I was thankful and delighted to be back with my family, I was aware of others who were doing more suffering than celebrating this season. There were (are) those struggling with addiction or facing the holiday season for the first time without a loved one they lost this year. Some people were spending their first or yet another Christmas away from family. There are others who are suffering in an ICU ward or at home waiting for a nurse to call with the test results. They suffer amidst broken relationships or financial strain (to put it lightly). "Those people" aren't just theoretical, and they aren't nameless, faceless strangers. They are my friends, my family.

But Christmas is the season where hope shines brightest. And I praise God for that. Around me hope shone especially bright through reconciling relationships, test results that came back normal, broken bondage of addiction, and the birthday of a healthy albeit premature precious baby boy. Hope came. Hope comes.

For the last few years, I've spent time on the Advent Conspiracy site. It challenges me to, "Worship Fully. Spend Less. Give More. Love All." I like its promotion of Christmas and the other reminders (and challenges) it brings. Among them is this simple yet profound statement, "Christmas can [still] change the world."

I was asked to lead a Bible study for Christmas. I took a less-than-traditional approach jumping into John 1. It holds one of my very favorite verses, "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (v. 14a) God became human and moved into the neighborhood - into our lives, our circumstances, our brokenness. My time in preparation and the discussion itself reminded me of the depth and beauty of Christmas. It wasn't just the birth of our Savior so that he could die. He came to show us a better way to live. "Christmas can [still] change the world."

You see, other discussion of late have informed me, not only of those close to me who are suffering but also those struggling on a wider scale. In a recent survey (sponsored by an organization that serves the impoverished in my county as well as several others in the state of Kansas) respondents were asked to "rank" how the saw their family at the present time. Their options were "Thriving", "Stable", "Getting By", or "In Crisis". Well over half identified their family as either just getting by or in crisis. That means that over half of the people I come in contact with fall into those categories. We need "Christmas" to change the world.

All of that is why, when I read the sentiments of a Christmas card sent to our family this year, I couldn't help but pass them along: Wishing you a blessed celebration of the birth of hope and the gift of love.

The celebration has now passed but the hope, the love, they live on. It lives on. May you experience it throughout the new year; Happy 2011! May it be our best year yet! :) Peace be with you...