Christmas...

I know I've said it before, but I loooove this time of year.  I have so many things to say in this blog that it may all come out pretty choppy, but I'm kind of just letting my thoughts spill out at the moment.
I woke up this morning to it snowing.  I can totally handle snow up until about December 26th, then it can be done.  So it's tolerable up until then... but for snow to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas... that's more than tolerable, that's magical.  The beauty of it... the purity of it... well, it reminds me a lot of what our Christmas season is all about... Jesus, pure, Holy beauty born of a woman in a manger to do for us what we not only could not do for ourselves, but wouldn't have understood that we needed.  There's so much analogy between the white purity of the snow, and how it lays and covers gently over the ground and trees, much as Jesus covers us from our sins.  I could write a whole blog about it.  So let's just say I'm digging the snow. 
From a mother's standpoint, Bryton gets his snowpants in his Christmas presents tomorrow, so I'm excited to see how he does with the opportunity to play in the snow tomorrow.  Last year he was very unsure, but he also didn't have the clothing for it either, so the poor guy was barely walking, so was falling all over the snow and was probably freezing.  I'm excited to see his excitement this year...
with the snow, and with everything else.
If there is something being a parent has taught me, if there's a way to become immediately, enjoyably unselfish, it's by having children.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about presents... but I'd be completely honest to say that I'm FAR more excited about Bryton opening his than anyone else.  And it's not just the presents.  It's the whole spirit of the season.  It was taking him through the lights at the fairgrounds and watching him dig the trains... it's watching his excitement when he gets a Christmas cookie (we don't do desserts very often... and this is one of the reasons I'm glad we don't... it's a 'treat' for him when he gets it... not something that's expected.)  It's seeing him enjoy family, and the snow, and our quality time together.  It's getting to share Jesus with him... in a very special celebration.   There's something about being a parent that makes you feel like a kid again.  It makes Christmas magical and wonderfully spiritual and pure.  I think about how far Bryton is from Jesus (in his 'lostness'), but how close he is as well (Matthew 19:14), and I swear to you sometimes I see the face of God through him... maybe it's his eyes when he asks to talk to "Gee gee", maybe it reminds me of how zealous God can be for us, and how zealous we should be for him... I don't know... but children seem to know something we have long forgotten about our King. 
And this is what it all comes down to... all the anticipation leading up until now... all of the waiting for God to provide a way... all of the Old Testament that has pointed to God working things out... through the conflicts and then the 400 years of silence... the climactic event happens now... God thrusting His Son into this shadow of sin to be our ransom, born of a virgin woman, in a manger, a sweet baby Himself, at a time where all of creation gasped and rejoiced. 
For our God has remembered us. 
Merry Christmas.