Christmas Letter

I haven’t done it for years now, but I went through a phase of writing a Christmas newsletter. I always liked to receive them, so I thought I should do one too. I don’t do it anymore, not since we lost all the addresses because we didn’t understand the “you’ll lose everything on the hard drive” when we changed our internet provider! I have a couple still to read this year. When my mum came to us for Christmas, she would always bring all the letters she had received for me to read. It was great to catch up on the news from people I hadn’t seen, people I knew years ago, people who had been friends of the family for a long time but with whom I had lost contact. It seems to me that God has written many letters to us. We call it the Bible. It’s full of what God has done and is doing. But I wonder: if he wrote to us this Christmas, what would he say? Maybe it would be something like this: “To my dear ones in the the places you are. I just wanted to write and to let you know that I’m thinking of you and remembering you this Christmas. It’s a long time now since that first Christmas with all the joy and wonder and all the pain. But, you know, every time I think of it, I remember just how good it was, how much it meant to me to do it for you. It makes my heart sing - the thought of my son being with you, doing life with you, so that we might get to know each other. I will never forget the look on the faces of the shepherds - I wish you could have seem them. It was priceless. Man , those angels gave them a fright! I had to send another angel to tell them not to be afraid. But the singing was amazing. And they soon cottoned on. It wasn’t long before they were running through the streets shouting about what they seen and heard. Wonderful! And the Magi. So proud of the Magi. That long, long journey. So proud they followed their hearts and stuck with it. If only more of you would do the same, you might find what they found. And it was all for you. The angels, the star, the singing, the manger, the swaddling clothes. It was all for you. John got it right when he said we’d come to dwell with you. We did. Or Jesus did! He absolutely did. And, more than anything, that’s what we want for you now: to dwell with you. We want you to know how much you are loved and that we are with you, in everything. Maybe, as you think about that first Christmas again this year, you will open your heart to me again. I would love to come in and dwell with you. I really would. Have a wonderful Christmas. It really is for you!” I wish you a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas, one where God comes to dwell with you.