^“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.” Luke 1:14 (NRSV)

Watching A Christmas Story is one of those family traditions, and thanks to TBS we can watch it all Christmas day. This is helpful because I’ve rarely sat through the whole movie, we usually watch a little bit at a time throughout Christmas day. We know all the lines, and quiet everyone down when a favorite is coming. My wife hates this. “What’s the point of watching it?” she asks, “you quote the line verbatim before it even happens.”

Most of us feel like we know every little detail about the real Christmas story. We know all the people and the lines, yet year in and year out we crave to listen to the story again. The awe and wonder of the story never is too much. I frequently think that the way you view Christmas as a child never really goes away. Underneath an adult’s cool exterior is this sense of excitement for what Christmas can bring.

My brothers and I certainly had a sense of expectation when my dad opened his official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle. Another year, this gift was only surpassed by my dad’s major award which now graces my parent’s living room. Sitting close to this oddly shaped lamp is a small sculpture of Santa Claus on his knees before the Christ-child. It is one decoration that never gets packed away to remind us all that the joy experienced at Christmas should be felt year round.

David Brinson

Prayer

God of Joy, help us continually to find the excitement in this Christmas season and never tire of hearing the same scripture story over and over again. Amen.