Traditions

I love this time of year.

There's something so comforting in the traditions of it all.  I was thinking about that tonight and couldn't help but wonder about the traditions that Jesus took part in. When He and his family celebrated Passover, what little things did they do every year to make it special? Was there a certain way that his relatives told the stories of their ancestors? Was there a game the kids all played every year? A certain song his mother sang?

What would it have been like for our God-become-man Savior to experience these celebrations, these festivals of remembrance and gratitude towards His Father..towards Himself? What a mystery it is for us.

How do you wrap your mind around a boy with skinned-up knees and calloused hands, helping his family prepare to celebrate a memory of a day that He was part of and yet not yet born? 

Did he smile fondly at mothers with children, remembering the lives-young and old-He spared that night in Egypt? Was it bittersweet, to also remember the pain, the weeping of Egyptian mothers, mourning for their lost babies, unaware of their own lost souls? Or was He caught up in being a child- doing chores for his family in the preparations, playing games with His brothers and cousins and friends?

I like to imagine that He enjoyed the traditions that His family kept, that the familiarity in them year after year sparked the same warmth in His heart that it does in mine. Since we are made in God's image, surely this isn't too far of a stretch.

Becoming a parent makes you think about things like traditions. It makes you conscious of what you are passing on-purposefully or not. It's such a joy to pass down certain Christmas traditions that I grew up with. And a privilege to witness the beginning of new ones. This year has had a great mix of both so far.

My challenge to myself this year is to be more conscious about how I present these traditions to Natalie. I want every tradition to point to Him, no matter how silly it seems. So we'll be baking cookies and giving them to neighbors and talking about how blessed we are to have an oven to bake goodies in for others. We'll be singing Christmas carols and reading about how David sung his heart out to God. We'll be opening an envelope each day to reveal another Bible story to read, another ornament to add to our Jesse tree collection. And yes, we'll even be anticipating the arrival of Santa here, and talking about how God loves a cheerful giver.

And with any luck (and a lot of Grace), this purposefulness, this pointing to Him will last into the New Year...

What a tradition that would be!