The Culture Bearer

rolling pin

cookie cutter

We woke up the day before Christmas Eve with nothing on the agenda. I looked at my husband and said, "I feel like I should be doing something Christmasy with her...like baking cookies?" Being the excellent husband he is, and the official maker of food in our household, he looked up recipes so we could bake cookies from scratch. He whipped out some makeshift tools, a Nalgene "rolling pin" and kid cup "cookie cutters" and set up a cookie factory on our kitchen table. There were green-iced sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies...even a few Heath and Reese's cookies. Despite having no butter for the recipes and burning a few batches, the cookies turned out great and we all ate until our tummies ached. 

We've covered all our bases, I suppose. T wore a beautiful Christmas dress and sang in a Christmas program at school. There have been ugly sweaters and Christmas parties. We've exchanged gifts with friends and neighbors, and Santa has been informed of T's wishes. We've made a halfway effort to follow the Advent traditions with candles and prayers and readings found on smartphones at the last minute. This is only my second Christmas being the mama, the culture bearer, and I still wonder if I'm getting it right. Am I giving her the best memories and does she see Jesus in Christmas? Do I see Jesus in Christmas?

I often think what a relief it is to have adopted an older child who has no expectations of the Christmas experience. As far as I know, she doesn't expect to be given a certain number of presents. She probably couldn't list off the many foods one should expect to find at a Christmas dinner table. She seems open to whatever traditions we throw her way and eager to learn as she goes.

She's still figuring it all out. She asked me the other day why our family doesn't light up and decorate the exterior of our house like some families around town. She wanted to know why it's so important to me to send out so many Christmas cards. She wondered why we would give gifts without expecting to receive gifts in return. She asks about Santa. We have discussed it many times. In some ways, we want her to experience the magic and make-believe of surrounding Santa Claus, but we don't push it. She remembers all those Decembers without Santa.We let her decide for herself.

So, since she's growing up in a subculture of people who can generally buy whatever they want whenever they want it, she won't see any extravagant gift-giving this year. I do hope we can one day show her what it means to meet the real material needs of others.

Tonight, we're worshiping with our church family. Tomorrow morning, we plan to sleep in and let the morning unfold as it will, in hopes that we will all remember Jesus and the Love that came down when He came to dwell among us.

May the love and peace of Christ give you peace in this season of busyness, and may all the mamas remember, as I should, it's not about our adequacy as the culture bearers.  Jesus' grace is sufficient for us and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. May we "treasure up all these things in our hearts."