Home for Christmas

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
-Hebrews 11:1

I awoke to the sound of a faraway barking dog. I had not heard the rain or its pattering on the window. But the barking was different. This spirited voice carried mystically through the crisp winter air and sliced with purpose through the pre-dawn darkness to find its way to my waking ear - its distance uncertain. And I sensed the presence of cool air drafting in from the open window though the reality of its chill was averted by a heavy layering of blankets.

Some things like the cold beyond the blankets and the sound of a distant dog require no physical viewing to believe in their existence. I know that when I rise from the bed I will experience the cold and if I were to follow the persistent barking I would eventually find its predictable source. And as I lay there waking on this Christmas Eve morn prolonging my exposure to the cold, I thought to myself of the other unseen yet trusted “barking” in our lives on this holiday season.

I thought of the infant who comes with tomorrow's light, born unto us all in a distant time and place yet so near to our present-day hearts and souls.

I thought of our daughters, each at times distant in a physical sense but as ever-present in our home and hearts as if they’d never grown and moved on to their new lives beyond our wanting arms. And I’m so thankful for the invisible blanket of love and respect that is so lovingly tucked in around us by our children. I know that I'll never find adequate words to describe this.

I thought of our dear friends. And I imagined them each in their homes celebrating their own traditions of Christmas with their families. I look so forward to gathering together with them to each share our treasured Christmas memories. We have been so blessed with such good and faithful friends.

I thought of my precious M readying for Christmas with the children at Hogar Sagrado Corazon in Bolivia. So far away from home M has been charged with bringing Christmas to 120 orphans. And she has unwittingly adopted the spirit of St. Nicholas in her giving to so many young girls in such need of knowing that someone cares. How better to fulfill the spirit of Christmas. I’m so proud of her and despite her distance I can feel her presence as the indirect fruits of her labors fill my proud heart.

And this year with M in Bolivia we too have ventured away from our family home for Christmas – thus fleeing the obvious void in our collective hearts. We packed up our gifts and together with K we’ve traversed the Country to the Pacific Northwest. This year we’ll celebrate the joys of Christmas in Matt and Jenna’s new home in Sammamish, Washington. And I trust that our decorated trees and lighted Omaha home will know a quieter Christmas this year and will await our return with a welcome that we’ve created over our many years there.

Christmas Eve will find me,
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas,
If only in my dreams.
-Home for Christmas, 1946