In 2021, I overheard a little boy say, “I want to go to summer.” I loved the phrase so much that I wrote a column about the child and the desires of all of us to go toward something very special. Summer for many of us means more leisure time; a chance to relive childhood in memory if not in action; a less stressful period. Those around this little guy had made summer sound heavenly, and he wanted to visit.
Last Christmas, I read a Guideposts devotional by Kathy Thigpen, a black woman with a large collection of Santas of all different skin colors.
She writes, “My little nephew likes to say he’s ‘going to Christmas’ when he comes to my house. Two hundred Santas tell him that the joy of the season is a joy of many colors. That’s one thing I know is true.”
Two little boys; two longings to go to special times as if they were concrete places. Oh, how the children speak to us if only we stop to listen.
This child goes to his aunt’s home where she decorates with Santas of all races. These Santas may look like his dad, my dad, the dads of people of different heredities. He may think he just going to see multi-colored givers of gifts, but his aunt is teaching him a valuable lesson in human relations each December.
I like this child’s phrasing because he uses an active, not passive, verb about Christmas. It takes energy to go to Christmas. We have to move. It counters any desire to just sit in our easy chair and let Christmas pass us by. It’s time to get up and go.
How are we going to go? Walk? Drive? Ski? Watch others go to far away destinations on TV? How are we going to make the most of this December?
Where are we going? To town? To parties? Are we among the dwindling numbers still making a trip to the post office to send holiday greetings? To church? Or are we going out shopping, pondering the best gift for each person on our list?
When COVID-19 kept many of us inside, we limited our grocery shopping to every two weeks, a trend which we continue to follow. But, I’m reminded that my mother, of another generation, went to the grocery store every day.
Where are we going today in our own journey to Christmas? Where do we want to go?
When are we going? This morning, tomorrow, December 24? Are we already rushing around to make the most of our time. Are we speeding up just to be exhausted from all the extra chores we try to tackle at this time of year?
What are we going to do when we arrive at our destination? Are we celebrating a glorious event or are we complaining about all we still must do?
I recently heard Jennifer Hudson, a member of the exclusive EGOT club (winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards) say that she begins to play Christmas music the day after Halloween. She knows what she wants to do as she maneuvers towards Christmas.
Most importantly, why are we going to Christmas? The little boy knows that he likes the feeling inside when he visits his aunt’s home. Why do we go? Tradition? Holiday? Worship?
Advent is all about going to Christmas, not necessarily physically like Mary on the back of a donkey with Joseph beside her. They walked to Bethlehem to await the birth of their first born, Jesus Christ. But each day as we prepare for the holidays, we’re headed somewhere even if we never leave our house. All month long we go toward Christmas.
May our own journey to Christmas bless us.
2022