January Message: Christmas and Life's Changes
by Reverend Don Hodson

As you may know, Kathy and I became grandparents this year. That means many things, including the fact that I’ve been around awhile. One thing about living many years, your experiences mount up and you receive the gift of perspective. Recently I was reflecting upon how Christmas has changed for me through the years.

Let’s begin with being a member of a large family of seven in the small town of Plymouth in northern Iowa. Christmas was the most fabulous time of year for me. I was enthralled by the sights, the sounds, and the smells of Christmas. On Christmas eve we would go to church and then gather around the tree and open all of our presents. We could hardly get to sleep we were so excited and looked forward to Christmas Day when we could actually play with our new toys and games. God was a part of our family observance because we were a church family.

When Kathy and I and our siblings reached middle age, it was the time when we were raising our own children. Since I was serving churches, Christmas Eve meant a wild dash home after services, driving alone a long distance through the night as other people were huddled snuggled in their homes with their families having Christmas cheer. When we arrived at my parent’s home there would be lots of folks, three generations, all ready to have a great time together singing, relating, opening gifts, telling stories, etc. That was a great epoch in our lives and the Christ child was the reason for our gathering.

Now things have changed again. Our parents are gone and the nieces and nephews have all grown up and have their own children. We no longer make the Christmas Eve trek to the parental home. Our son and his family will come to our house for a couple days. Jesus and the church continue to be the rock, the unchanging element in our Christmas observance. Families change, times change, traditions change, but Jesus the Christ is always the same now and forever. Merry Christmas and God bless you.