Another Christmas Eve is upon us. I will, unless something drastic intervenes, grill some bacon-wrapped venison loin for dinner followed by our family Christmas celebration. The boys will read the Christmas account from the second chapter of Luke's Gospel as a reminder of what we are celebrating before trying to decide whose turn it is to pass out the gifts. They will ultimately settle on one or the other and they will pass out the gifts from under the tree.
One at a time, each gift will be handed to its recipient to be opened. It seems there are fewer gifts under the tree each year as the boys use their Christmas money toward some large ticket item they want. This year, for example, Joseph replaced his computer with a new MacBook of some ilk and Matthew applied both his birthday and Christmas money toward a new deer hunting rifle and scope. We wrap up our time of celebration together as a family as we eat shrimp and other finger foods.
I am always reminded, though, of those people who can't share in that celebration with their family because they are helping my family to celebrate together.
There are the police officers who will continue their solitary patrol to ensure that our celebration is safe;
the firefighters who sit together in their home away from home ready to beat back the flames that may endanger us;
the prehospital and facility-based medical providers who treat the sick and wounded in an attempt to hold off the effects of trauma, disease, violence and old age;
and the service men and women who stand between us and those who would seek to destroy us.
Those men and women are missing out on the celebration with their family tonight. I'm sure they would much rather be at home with their loved ones like I will be, but they remain on duty.
So tonight I will remember those whose sacrifice forces them to be somewhere else while we gather in our living room to celebrate the reminder of Christ's first coming to the earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment