Today is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the day after Black Friday, and much of the country has begun its enthusiastic preparation for Christmas. For many years that was true for our family, too. We kept our 22 boxes of decorations under the stairs in a “secret” closet in which no adult could straighten up. It dictated assembly-line emptying of the decorations, smallest people farthest in.

Every family relishes the fun of opening their boxes again and pulling out Christmas items that mean something special only to them. It’s like participating in a private holiday festival, half silly and half magical.

Nate was never big on setting out decorations or stringing lights. His enthusiasm was strongest for choosing the tree, sawing off the stump and getting it upright. He usually finished by wiring the trunk to the window behind it, hoping it wouldn’t “go overboard again this year.”

The rest of the family lost interest long before the tree was completely trimmed, but that never dimmed my holiday spirit. After they’d all been bathed and bedded down, and after Nate had settled into his nightly “bathtub hydrotherapy” with a good book, I’d head back to the boxes and put on my middle-aged-mom-music, decorating well into the night.

Today Birgitta and I did some shopping and enjoyed seeing newly purchased Christmas trees tied to the tops of cars heading home for the decorating ritual. Their ordinary evergreen would soon be transformed into a lighted, sparkling wonder, the focal point of their home for a month.

As we arrived home, our next door neighbors had finished decorating their pretty picket fence with garlands and lights, and in the twilight it was a welcoming sight. Last Christmas, seven weeks after Nate died, none of us were feeling merry. We did have a tiny, lopsided excuse-for-a-tree, but most of us were just hoping to “get Christmas over with.”

This Christmas will be different. Our “new family” will be together, which means we’ll be minus Nate but plus Micah, Evelyn and Thomas. Little children can serve as God’s instruments of joy, coaxing us to surrender to laughter and good cheer. Just imagining their expressions of glee at the ornaments and lights will make the decorating fun, even if I do it alone.

But while eagerly pulling out the boxes marked “Christmas”, I have to ask if I’m equally energized to ponder the magnificent coming of Christ. Have I lived through so many Christmases my subconscious tells me I know everything there is to know?

Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Christmas, has more depth to him than any of us can possibly comprehend. His interest in saving us, his unique way of accomplishing it and the love he expressed by becoming human are mind-boggling concepts we’ll think about throughout eternity.

As I decorate the house and yard, I’ve asked the Lord to show me something brand new about himself during this season.

And because I’ve prayed that, I’ll be eagerly anticipating his answer, watching for it, waiting for it and knowing it will come.

“The child [Jesus] grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” (Luke 2:40)