Christmas Eve is nostalgic. As a child, this was the day when we went to the farm and saw all our cousins again. It was HOT! on the farm, December temperatures are 40 degrees Celsius plus. There was no pool, no airconditioning, but none of it mattered. We made 'christmas beds', which meant we all slept on the floor in the lounge. If you consider stretchers to be beds, there were beds for all the grown-ups. We played and laughed.
On Christmas morning, we would all dress up in 'church clothes' and listen to the radio broadcasted Christmas service on the veranda. Nodding off and smiling were not permitted. Best behaviour only.
Today, I am grown up. I look around me and see people spending money they don't have on things they don't need and other don't really want. Cynical, I know.
My grandparents passed away, granny only this year and the last Christmas on the farm was 20 years ago. My parents are divorced. My mom is spending Christmas with my brother and sisters in London. My dad's girlfriend went on holiday with her family and he has been staying with me.
It could be a sad and dreary picture, if we don't turn our eyes tot the Reason for Christmas. Jesus, Emmanuel, leaving His Father's house to come and pitch a tent on earth, camping out with us. This remains the greatest miracle of all time.
So, this Christmas Eve, instead of sulking about bygones and getting lost in nostalgia, I am awestruck by a God who gave up everything to give the greatest gift of all. The King of Christmas came to sleep in a Christmas bed.
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