Advent 2022: Thursday, December 22

December 22, 2022

As a young girl of nine siblings, I remember when Christmas approached. We would all await the Sear’s Christmas catalog to come in the mail. Mom and Dad asked us each to make a list of our dream present in hopes Santa would bring the one toy we wanted. My favorite part of Christmas morning was once we were ALL awake, we could enter the family room. Santa neatly made piles for each child. You knew your pile by your Stocking.

It was one Christmas in Dec 1982 when I had moved to college in Maryland and lived with my brother, and his family. Well to my surprise, on Christmas day as we awoke, there wasn’t a rush to the gifts or the stockings. Actually, this was my first time away from home and my Joy of a stocking didn’t happen, but what did was a pivotal moment for me.

As my brother and nephew gathered us near the Manager. Denise comes out with a little white iced round cake filled with many colors. I noticed it said, “Happy Birthday Jesus.” Jason went to the hutch drawer and pulled out Baby Jesus to lay him in the Manger on that Christmas Morn. As I was trying to process the message, they started to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, HE was the one we were honoring. WOW, I experienced the true meaning of Christmas!

I saw thru the eyes of a Child the true meaning of Christmas. It wasn’t the Sears catalog, the commercials on TV for the Easy Bake Oven. It was so much more than I could have ever imagined. Thru the eyes of a 3 yr. old. I learned the TRUE meaning of Jesus’ birth and what this Babe will bring to us as believers. Advent brings me Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.

Leslie Brooks, wonder woman at the front desk