by Jesse Smith – “…from the moment Thanksgiving ended I was able to celebrate everything that Christmas is about and I owe it all to my son, Styer.”
And so begins Jesse Smith’s blog entry. Its topic is so fitting to the Behind the Scenes blog, that I didn’t want his entry to become lost in the sea of links.
Jesse has graciously granted me permission to repost this blog in its entirety.
Christmas has been officially renewed!!! Now don’t get me wrong. I have always loved Christmas. I love everything about it. I love being with my family, the lights, the trees, the presents, Santa Claus, the music and, of course, taking time to really appreciate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But during the last 10-15 years I haven’t really spent much time truly appreciating the season. I think what was really happening was that I had experienced it so many times that I allowed it to lose its youthful excitement. Growing into adulthood and the responsibilities of being a “grown up”, I lost the anticipation of this incredible day. This year from the moment Thanksgiving ended I was able to celebrate everything that Christmas is about and I owe it all to my son, Styer.
Having a three year old who really understood Christmas for the first time brought so much excitement, anticipation, and true celebration of the blessed day. He loved coming home to a house filled with lights. He loved listening to Christmas music in the car. He loved seeing the decorations all over town—pointing out every single display as if he were in Rockefeller Center. He loved seeing for the first time the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, and of course my favorite—A Charlie Brown Christmas (thank you DVR!). And he loved coming to church and joining in on the celebration of baby Jesus. He loved the Christmas Eve service. His eyes were as wide as they possibly could have been when Santa Claus entered the worship center. He just sat there staring in amazement when Pastor Ted (his grandpa) interviewed Santa Claus. Although I was really hoping that he would experience a life-changing moment when Santa Claus shared the gospel message, afterward in a very solemn moment he turned to his mom with a very concerned look and asked, “Why does Santa like the Forty-Niners and not the Raiders?” Holly and I just looked at each other and laughed.
He loved getting up early on Christmas morning and running downstairs to see that Santa had eaten the cookies he left out…and left him a light saber under the tree. He was actually jumping up and down screaming, “I can’t believe Santa got me a light saber!”
Ted and Jesse Smith
So for me, Christmas has been renewed. For the first time in a while, I was able to anticipate and celebrate Christmas through the precious eyes of a three year old. But honestly… I loved coming home to a house that had lights on it. I loved listening to Christmas music in the car. I loved seeing the decorations all over town, pointing out every single display as if I were at Rockefeller Center. I loved seeing for the 100th time the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, and of course my favorite—A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I absolutely loved coming to church and joining in on the celebration of baby Jesus. I loved the Christmas Eve service. I sat and cried while Steve Pearce sang a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night. I loved watching my son listen to the Good News of Jesus Christ from Santa Claus. I loved the fact that my son loves the Raiders so much that he was disappointed to hear that Santa likes the Niners. I loved for the first time in a long time getting up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. I loved jumping up and down screaming, “I can’t believe Santa got me a sky caddie GPS unit for golf!”I believe that it is good to take some time—even though Christmas is over—to praise and worship God specifically for the gift of his son Jesus Christ. I also believe that, although New Year’s Resolutions often are for such things as losing weight or saving money, it is a great opportunity to look at how you lived this last year for Jesus and make some commitments for spiritual growth in the New Year. I hope that Christmas was a wonderful celebration of Jesus with your family and I wish you a very happy new year!
by Jesse Smith, Associate Pastor
originally posted on FirstCov.org/Devotions
