Christmas Smiles

Christmas Smiles

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All year long, I look forward to those last few moments of Christmas Eve, when our PJ-clad kids are almost to the excitement breaking point. When they were little, they would literally run in circles, singing and laughing. It’s almost like their brains couldn’t handle the truth that Christmas was only a few short sleeping hours away, and their joy was practically breathtaking.

Now that they’re older, the excitement looks different, but it’s still there. It’s in the way they put on their Christmas PJs and pose for pictures in front of the tree, laughing so much as they rib each other and try out funny poses that it’s hard to get one decent picture. It’s in their insistence that we follow every family Christmas tradition we ever thought of. Their smiles are just as bright and excited as they were when they were running circles around the house, anxious to get to bed so Santa could come down the chimney.

I have always loved Christmas, but as a mother, I think those few minutes before bed on Christmas Eve are some of the greatest minutes of the entire year. I’m just as excited as the kids are. Their faces give away their excitement, and their hearts are set on enjoying every little thing about this night, especially the long-awaited fulfillment of their Christmas morning dreams.

It makes me think of those little shepherd boys, out in the fields on the night of Jesus’ birth. How long had they been waiting for the Messiah? How long had they endured the silence of the One True God? And then suddenly, on the first Christmas Eve, the sky was filled with light. Angels appeared, and in an instant, the shepherds realized that the long-expected Savior had arrived. And not only had He arrived, He had dropped into a little stable just a few miles away. Can you imagine the expressions on those faces? Wonder. Excitement. Awe. Sheer happiness.

This Christmas may feel a little more strained than most, for lots of reasons. Personally, I’ve never had more to distract me from the joy of this season. I find myself wondering if Christmas will even happen in our house, as if a lack of cooking, wrapping, decorating, and planning could ever keep the baby out of the stable or the angels out of the sky. No circumstance, no fear or worry or news article should be able to keep us from experiencing true excitement as we think about that night in Bethlehem—the moment when God proved once again and ultimately that He always keeps His promises. It should show in our faces. It should ring in our spirits. The light of a night sky in a little Judean town should invade the shadowy corners of our hearts.

Jesus has come. He is near. Can you hear the angels singing?