Minister's Musing

Rev. Mark Ward
Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville

January 2007

After our first fall as empty-nesters, Debbie and I look forward to welcoming back all three of our daughters for Christmas. As a bonus, our eldest daughter’s new husband will join us. Christmas has always been THE family holiday for us, so having everyone home is very special. Now that our girls are starting to make their own way in the world, that is going to be increasingly hard to accomplish.

It’s a reminder to us that as much as we celebrate the independence that comes with growing maturity we need to find creative ways to maintain the ties that we cherish. The pace of our lives these days tends to drive all of us apart, even those of us who share a home. Family holidays and rituals are moments when we can remind each other of our history together, how much we are bound up in each other’s lives, and the enduring love that underlies it all.

Our family history at Christmas is written in the decorations for our Christmas tree: the home-made ornaments of elementary school projects, the gifts from loved ones who are now gone or friends who are now distant. As we hang each ornament we reflect, sometimes out loud, sometimes with just smiles or tears, on our rich lives together and how much we mean to each other.

Each night a child is born is a holy night, wrote the Unitarian religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs, and each bond of love we make in the world is a holy one.

Whether Christmas is your family time together or there are other moments that accomplish that for you, may you find occasions in the year when you can gather with and celebrate those people in your lives who matter most to you and the gift of love in your life.