As the miraculous events of Jesus's birth unfolded, such as the angels' visit to the shepherds, his mother Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). This Christmas season, more than any other I can remember, has brought many moments that I have treasured up in my heart, though there were other experiences that I would prefer to forget.
It has been a season of firsts. For example, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, my heart was heavy because it was my first time to decorate the tree without both of my children present. In fact, neither one could be there; Ethan was working a 14-day shift in South Texas, and Allyson was finishing the semester at Western Washington University.
My young neighbors, Ariana* and Safya*, were thrilled to help me out. It was their first time to decorate a tree, and they could not have been more excited. As they hung ornaments much older than they are, they peppered me with questions about the stories behind each one. I proudly identified the ornaments that had been made by Ethan and Allyson throughout their childhoods.
After the girls had left, Amy pointed out that most of the ornaments were clustered in the lower, front part of the tree. Our roommate and ministry partner, Moain, quickly redistributed the ornaments more evenly. If the girls noticed the change when they returned later that day, they didn't mention it. Their two-year-old sister Fawzia* noticed all the ornaments. She pulled glass balls, Santa Clauses, and school craft ornaments off the bottom branches, one by one. One by one, I moved the breakable ornaments to the top of the tree. Fawzia's play ended when she clapped her hands after dropping and shattering a glass ball. From that point, we had to herd her away from the tree each time she visited.
The next day, I presented each sister with an ornament of her own to hang. Ariana got a cute cat in a pink and red dress, because she is crazy about my cats, especially naughty CiCi. Safya got a tiny pan of Christmas cookies, and Fawzia got an unbreakable cloth Santa Claus. "We will pack these away and use them every year, just like the others," I explained. "When we see them, we will always remember our first Christmas with you."
