On Christmas Day in the morning

On Christmas Day in the morning

Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2019

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

– From Luke 2

You take the apple, I’ll eat the orange!

Can we have marshmallows in our chocolate, Mommy?

When will daddy get in from the barn?

Can we open our presents now, Daddy? “Settle down right there, kids.” It’s finally time.

I got a chess set and a book to show me how. Johnny got an ‘lectric train, and Mary Kay a grown-up dollie. We made gifts for Mom and Dad, and couldn’t wait to share them. Open it! Open it now! I made mommy a snowflake to put in the window. Johnny made a special sculpture out of corn and straw. He wasn’t sure what it was, but everybody loved it.

Mary Kay made daddy a holder for his pocket pen and notebook. In the spring he wrote down all the kinds of corn and beans he planted, and when he planted them. When he opened it he had a happy smile. “Thank you, Mary Kay,” he said.

Mommy made turkey, and mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole, and the winter sun shone through the west window. Our kitchen was warm as toast. The cows would need to be milked again in not too long, but just now in the lazy afternoon, we let them be.

We Lutherans spent some time in church at Christmas. First, practices for the pageant and then the show itself, starring us, always performed on Christmas Eve. My cousin Jan remembers these nights like I do, we could hardly breathe and then we sang and said our words so carefully, and then, such relief!

There’s a brown paper bag with an orange, and chocolate candy, and sometimes a quarter. There was a card just for me. My favorite teacher Mr. Read handed us our bags. His usually quiet smile burst out into his cheeks. He talked and talked in Sunday School, but tonight he just smiled at me and said, “Merry Christmas, David. Jesus loves you.” That was enough for me. I felt so happy in the dark, sitting side by side by side with Mary Kay and John in the back seat of our car.

Then next morning, after all those gifts and Christmas breakfast, we went to church again. We sat still in the wooden pews and sang the songs of Christmas, our Lutheran songs: All My Heart Again Rejoices, From Heaven Above to Earth I Come, We Praise You Jesus At Your Birth, and a bow to the Methodists, “Joy To The World,” with a just a few changes in the words.

Of course our cows got milked. Dad wore his barn coat and rubber boots. Lowell Thomas read his Christmas news from the fly-speck radio. I helped milk, and sometimes so did John, and the work was done. Our Grandma Brummer Christmas dinner beckoned. Grandpa sat in his huge wood rocker and Aunt Mary gave us great hugs and sang “Let me go! Let me go!” while she held on tight.

More presents! And more wrapping paper. On the day after Christmas, I loved to burn the trash and watch flames scorch the colored paper, and turn it black. It was warm beside the burning barrel, and warmer still because my back was cold.

Christmas has come again this year, and my memories rise up, shadows in the fireplace flames, along the edges of my rushing mind. It’s good to ponder them, learning to think like Mary did, letting God do what God does, and wonder about it all.

After the madhouse comes this quiet, Lord. Now I can ask questions and take time to listen to what you say to me. I feel so much warmth and love from you as I remember these family things. I want to carry that on and out to others. How, for me, is that to be, Lord? Will you show me how, and then again?

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