December 19
“Christmas Through New Eyes,” by Christian Hines
As a stressed and sleep-deprived freshman four years ago, I regarded the holiday season with profound indifference, if not irritation. Christmas heralded the end of term, yes; but before that, it meant a week of essays and grueling exams. For the past thirteen weeks or so, I had been in pure survival mode. I studied, ate, and slept—in roughly that order of priority. The last thing to cross my mind, in short, was whether this Christmas would offer some significant personal truth. In fact, after the emotional turbulence of starting a new kind of life in an unfamiliar place, I felt like I had left behind more than friends and family. It seemed I had left behind a previous life—and all the certainty and stability that were part of that life—altogether.
Perhaps this is why, after a semester in which everything had seemingly changed, the Christmas holiday brought three of the most reassuring and intensely happy weeks I can remember. I took great delight in simple acts, like enjoying dinner with my parents or sharing stories late into the evening with old friends. For all the year’s upheaval, there were still people and places and experiences to which I could return.
The Christmas season gives us much to ponder, some of it worthwhile and some of it not. Returning home forced me to think about what in our lives provides a sense of constancy and stability. Although friends and family can fill this role to a certain extent—as I discovered four years ago—Christians are also called to recognize a deeper, more enduring source of steadfastness, namely the promise of salvation introduced through the birth of Christ.
Father, as we enjoy the many blessings that give us happiness throughout the holidays, let your followers also remember the even deeper and more permanent contentment you have promised.
