Downsizing for Christmas

When my husband and I bought the old farmhouse we’ve lived in for 25 years, we were charmed by its ample storage space. But now that we’re downsizing and moving, the treasures and mementos accumulated in the attic, the closets, the built-in bookshelves, and the basement storage rooms seem much less charming. We are now on a first name basis with landfill crew and the staff at Good Will. Our dinner conversations consist of the following: Do we need to keep this broken guitar strap your mom gave it to you in 1987? Hmmm, I thought I threw away my college textbooks years ago. Now that the kids are 34 and 28, it’s time to toss their Awana Grand Prix cars, their vests and uniforms, badges, books, and trophies.

Letting go of some things was easy. But saying good-bye to my kids’ baby things was hard. You haven’t looked at these things in years, I reminded myself as I struggled to throw away the moth-eaten Santa hat my son wore on his first Christmas and the bundle of yellowed cards sent by friends and family after our daughter’s birth.

The morning after a particularly brutal day of downsizing, packing, and unsuccessful attempts to toss the Santa hat and baby cards, I read the Christmas story in Matthew. The account of the Magi throwing a baby shower for the Christ Child unleashed a floodgate of questions. How long did Mary hang on to the gold and frankincense and myrrh? Where did she keep them? Did she and Joseph haul everything to Egypt and back? Did the gold cover their travel expenses? Did Mary struggle when she had to downsize?

Scripture doesn’t answer those questions. The gifts of the Magi are never mentioned again though Luke 2:19 says that Mary treasured and pondered in her heart the events surrounding her first child’s birth. And we can assume that Mary passed along the story of Jesus’ birth to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who recorded them in their gospels.

Mary’s memories are precious jewels to all who follow Christ. For over two thousand years, her story of the birth of the Son of God has been the centerpiece of Christmas. The gifts of the Magi are long gone. The earthly dwellings that once housed the Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the Magi, and even Jesus are gone. But Mary’s story remains as clear as the stars and as fresh as the night air surrounding the angels who proclaimed about her Son’s birth. And His eternal Spirit dwells within all who call Him Savior.

I slipped my Bible into the place it has occupied on one of the built-in bookshelf for 25 years. Then I went to the attic and gently put the hat and the baby cards, broken toys and a stained Easter bonnet, and the moldering detritus of my children’s growing up years in a plastic bag. I tossed the bag on the pile where it waited for a ride to the landfill.

I prayed for my children and their children as I walked back to the house. May the memories we created and the love we’ve shared be clear and fresh in their hearts long after we are gone. May they ponder and embrace Mary’s stories of her Son this and every Christmas. May the living Spirit of Jesus fill their hearts with joy and truth and purpose forever more. Amen.

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