Christmas Just Isn't What It Used To Be

 

Christmas just isn’t what it used to be. My childhood memories of getting up on Christmas morning are draped in a fuzzy gauze of memory. I wish I still had some of the toys I remember unwrapping back then. I recall my “cowboy” stocking with a missing eye. Mom’s punch and haystack candy is what Christmas tasted like. A ceramic tree with Lite-Brite looking ornaments was a favorite decoration. I also loved the old-fashioned electric candles that used to adorn our neighbor’s windows.

Christmas just isn’t what it used to be. I spent many exhausting Christmas Eves coming home from a candlelight communion service at church, getting kids to bed and then spending hours working on presents that required “some assembly.” It was worth it to see their smiles as they ran in to see what Santa had brought them as they marveled at the magic of the morning. We then ate sausage casserole and drank hot chocolate and spent the day in our pajamas, usually watching a new video someone got as a gift.

Christmas just isn’t what it used to be. The kids have moved out and I do not have to sneak around on Christmas Eve much anymore. Scheduling time with all the family and their significant others and the resulting conflicting schedules is one of the more challenging parts of the season now. While I lament no longer being able to make at least one holiday trip to East Towne mall, I do enjoy the convenience of online shopping and delivery. We are getting to the point where we are not wrapping as many presents but rather giving monetary gifts and some stocking stuff.

Christmas just isn’t what it used to be. I am sure things will continue to change for the remainder of my life. Perhaps instead of an artificial tree, I will get a hologram instead and presents can be beamed instantly to my space deck. When I am gone, Christmas celebrations will transform and shift for those I leave behind. I am at peace with this because I am comforted by what does not change. Hebrews 13:8 reads, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Everything around the babe born in Bethlehem changes, but He does not.