December arrived like a thief in the night this year and the Oliver family in a quandary. In younger years, I despised the times when Thanksgiving was a week to ten days before the arrival of December. This was when Christmas seemed so slow in arriving and simply being in December meant that Santa has his sleigh packed and he was ready to ride. It was also in December when we could officially start playing Christmas music.
Today, Christmas tunes hit the airwaves on October 31st and the holiday seems to be on a biannual basis. This year there was another variable that added to our Christmas dilemma. We were not afforded the luxury of the November/ Thanksgiving buffer week. Our day of gratitude was on November 28th and three days later it is essentially Christmas! The outdoor décor and the lights that cause me to forsake all of my Christmas spirit and embrace my inner Scrooge are still in my “He Shed”. While in the throes of a cold that (due to my male perspective) is the worst in human history; I was able to get a few crates of interior decorations for Kim, so she could give the inside of our home the yuletide look. In the process of preparation we had some family members make unexpected hospital visits and we had a couple of holiday obligations to tend to. Needless to say, our home will be decorated just in time to take all the stuff down.
The first Christmas came about quickly and unexpectedly. Like the 2019 calendar, which told me Christmas was on the way, so the prophets of old foretold the coming of Jesus. The angels told terrified lowly shepherds, He is here… It’s Christmas! Wise men from the east saw a star and determined something’s up in Bethlehem. They prepared for that first Christmas as they did not have to tell Mary, Joseph, and Jesus they lost their gift or left it back in another saddlebag on another camel. They were prepared as they offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Even though I don’t know if my earthly home will be prepared for Christmas. I do hope I will be ready like the Magi and that I will experience the awesome wonder of the terrified shepherds. I hope you experience this as well.
Pray for me as I break the news to Kim… “107 Lindsey Lee Lane may not look like the Biltmore House this year and besides, its not the lights on the house that matter. It is thee light within.” When you see me ask how that worked out.
Merry Christmas!
Andy O.