You know it’s Christmas time when you start making several long distance day trips.

Some people know it’s Christmas time when the lights go up, when the snow starts to fall, or when they start hearing Christmas songs on the radio.

For me those are only the birth pangs of Christmas. In the Bible we’re told that wars and earthquakes aren’t the end of the world, they are just signs that it’s getting close.

When we have our Christmas program and dinner at church, I know it’s getting close. When I hear the “Boss” Bruce Springsteen singing “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” on the radio, I start to feel the rumblings.

But I really know it’s Christmas when I have to pack the car for a day trip to Toronto and another day trip to Ottawa.

We live the farthest away from both sides of our family so we are always on the move at Christmas. The downside is that we usually meet on the Saturdays before and after Christmas so I have to be back home the same day in order to be ready to preach the next day.

It makes for a couple of long days.

The first trip is three hours to Toronto, followed by a game of hockey with our sons and nephews trying to show us up on the ice. They’re all getting pretty big and good … or my brother, John, and I are getting old and slow. Worse … maybe it’s a combination of both!

After hockey we have dinner and then hang out, eating some candy off my dad’s old candy tray. John has taken Dad’s place, every year meticulously purchasing and arranging the candy on the three-tiered server.

Then before it gets too late in the evening, we make the three hour trek back home.

The second day is very similar, minus the hockey game. There’s more chill time, but we still have the commute on either end of the day.

The travel is what makes these days exciting. You just never know what you are going to get from one day to another or one year to another.

We’ve travelled in blizzards, rain and freezing rain. We’ve driven on bare roads, ice,  and ruts with six inches of snow.

This year should prove to be the best driving weather we’ve had in many, many years … but you never know until you make the trip. And the way home can be very different from the way down.

But you know what? It’s Christmas time and that’s what we do at Christmas. We spend a little time with our extended family. We take some time to enjoy each other’s company, to eat and laugh, share stories and remember.

One of the best things we do is remember – remember our family when it was younger and smaller, remember family members who are no longer with us. We remember the good, the best of how we got to be where we are.

It’s Christmas time; that’s what we do.

Here’s the thing: The first Christmas story is not that dissimilar to our Christmas each year. Joseph and Mary had to travel a long distance. The conditions were anything but ideal. There was a little drama when they got to Bethlehem, a little competition for a place to stay. But in the end, it was an event that created a memory for them they would never forget.

In fact we remember this event now. Hey, it’s Christmas time – time to remember Christ’s birth, time to remember how much God loves us.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What will you do to celebrate Christmas this year? Leave your comment below.