How will you remember this Christmas?

David Bowman Dec. 25, 2022

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When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15 CSB).

Have you ever been stunned into silence? There are some realities so dramatic, so amazing they stop you in your tracks. Mouths fall open, but words are not formed. No sounds escape.

This was not what happened to the shepherds, at least not for long. They started talking, then they started walking, and they probably took off running. Notice verse 16: "They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger."

They hurried. Wouldn't you?

They searched until they "found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger." How many mangers did they search before they found who they were looking for? How much disturbance did they cause coming into town? Verse 20 tells us they "returned, glorifying and praising God for the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told." How much disturbance did they cause leaving town?

However long they may have experienced stunned silence, they got over it pretty quickly and began an echo, a poor, second-rate echo no doubt, of what they had seen and heard from angels appearing in the night.

Mary probably did not get much rest that night. She did make some memories. Look at verse 19: "But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them."

Our family has another year of photographs and memories. One guy ate so much more than normal yesterday that he doubted at bedtime he would ever need to eat again. Yet this morning, yesterday's leftover cinnamon rolls smell nearly as good now as they did then.

What treasures have you found this Christmas? How will you remember this Christmas as distinct from all the others?

We exited the movie theater yesterday afternoon and I asked our older daughter how much of a nap she got. "About an hour," she said. We all laughed aloud as we wandered toward our cars. It was a holy, golden moment in a parking lot of all places.

We got to FaceTime with our granddaughter whose speech is increasingly clear and ever so dear. It was a holy, golden moment to hear her say, "Merry Christmas, Granddad!"

I have not yet written in my Gratitude Journal for yesterday. If you do not have such a journal, start one. Write down at least one good thing that happens to you every day. Start with your most treasured Christmas memories. Mary gives us a great example of how to begin.

Our Father, thank you for precious memories. Teach us how to gather such treasures and to return to them frequently to remind ourselves of what is truly valuable and meaningful. Amen.

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David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More »

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