We've just come back from a break in our touring caravan.  The children get so excited and love it when we go away.  The weather has been cold and wet and one night, because the gas ran out at nine o'clock, we had no heating (there was frost on the windscreens in the morning).  We stayed at a site with a swimming pool and indoor play facilities and the children were able to roam wherever they pleased in safety. 

Every evening we sat as a foursome on the double bed making up stories including the children's names, the Simpsons, Batman and trains.  The greatest laughs came when the characters got wind or did something mischievous - no surprises there.

This warm, intimate family time together reminded me of Christmastime when I was a child with my three younger brothers.  Mum and Dad saved and planned all year to give us a special time, including all four of us making Christmas puddings, a Christmas cake and a chocolate log.  We made decorations and presents, which everyone enjoyed, and rolled red marzipan shapes on the cheese grater to make them look like strawberries.  We enjoyed our presents, of course, but the best thing was our Mum and Dad's undivided loving attention as they attempted simultaneously to absorb ten sets of instructions (from Action Man to Cluedo) and play with us.

Christmas is a time we can simultaneously love and dread.   Certainly women's magazines at this time of year always carry features about a stress-free Christmas.  Realistically, that is impossible considering the mixture of expectation, hype and family relations that come together at this time.  And then there could be that question at the back of our minds - are we remembering what the whole thing of Christmas is about?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a German theologian killed by the Nazis) wrote this: "Who will celebrate Christmas correctly?  Whoever finally lays down all power, all honour, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger."  That would be quite something to accomplish, standing in the queue at Sainsbury's or driving round for a parking space in Woking.

What small manageable steps can we take?  As you prepare for the festivities, still yourself a moment and remember quietly that everything you are doing is a preparation for the coming of God.  Pause, take a breath, and feel His loving presence with you (remember that Emmanuel means ‘God with us').  Maybe money is an issue this year?  Plan modestly; remember that ‘must-have treat' is the difference between life and death to some.  Don't look back to Christmas past in longing nostalgia; make the present count, for the most precious gift you can give another is your time, your undivided attention - your love.  

I wish you and those you love the blessing and warmth of the Christ child's loving presence among you in all you do, say and feel at this hallowed time.

With Love in Christ,