Homegrown Depot Blog

I have always wondered if love affairs that start around the special calendar dates don’t have an extra sprinkle of magic dust? Each year, as that day rolls past, they have a reminder of a unique positive memory. There are gifts exchanged, cards given, meals shared and decorations: Oh, the decorations! Everywhere you turn, there is a poster-ized moment from the past.

My wife and I celebrate our engagement each year on December 21^st. In my mind, it is a bit more magical than our actual wedding. I think that this may be because I felt that there was an element of surprise. A few days before Christmas, Dawn and I sealed our fate together with a date, flowers and a very special gift. In just a few days, Dawn and I will dress up and stir the magic again. I have always been a romantic fan of Christmas. I find myself excited and apprehensive at the same time as I prepare for the annual celebratory night.

We take relational liberties on Christmas. We give extravagant gifts. We eat extraordinary meals. We sit in the fireplace glow late into the night. We listen to sirening string sections place themselves into our favorite carols and into our emotions. We find romantic meaning in a blanket of snow. Crisp air fills our lungs with eagerness to be with family and friends… If we engage it.

I know lots of “Scrooges”. Something has soured them to the experience that for most, was magic. Life takes some pretty hard shots at us on those special days.

A few years ago, I was called to sit beside a family that was losing their son… on Christmas day. Each year, I am sure that the day has a bittersweet tang to it. Grandkids relish the day around them but the back of their hearts holds an empty space.

Maybe that is how you find this holiday. Can I spark the days to come with a magic thought? One day, very soon, we will be able to celebrate the birth of this Christ Child of Christmas together. We have the opportunity to pour lavish gifts on the child while we take liberty in our expressions of love. After all, that Christmas will last for all time.

Tonight, two of my daughters are coming home for the holidays. It gives us another chance to fall in love over a very special day.

My Christmas prayer for you and yours is that you are able to stir the magic that God gave to us a couple of thousand years ago when he celebrated with the extravagance of an angelic announcement. Fall in love with Jesus again.