Christmas at the
Parsonage
Felicia Billings
Every
year for about ten years my pastor and his wife would host a Christmas
gathering at their home in December. I looked forward to that as a time to
fellowship, but for me it was much more than a ‘church event’.
I grew
up in a single parent home. My mother was very loving and made sure to supply
our needs, but often we didn’t have as much time with her or the rest of our
family. My family would often have a family Christmas gathering at my
grandfather and grandmothers house. I loved helping, learning how to prepare
family dishes, and eating wonderful food cooked by my family. It was a
wonderful time and I got to see family members that I rarely saw at other times
of the year.
Still, I was never ‘full of
Christmas’ at Christmas time. I longed for the comfort that I found at one
place, church, to be more present in my life than it often was at other times
during the year. That comfort came from knowing a God, the only God, who loves
me. It came from a church of likeminded people seeking solace, a sheltering
place from this word, and coming together in a unified Spirit that is unlike
any other kind of unity in this life. I longed for sanctuary, for the still
small voice of a Babe to wrap me up in love and let me know that I was His and
all was well.
This is something I found at those
gatherings. Yes, it was noisy with us Sunday school kids there. Yes, there may
be raised voices, fast moving feet trying to help with arrangements, and a lot
of festive craziness. Still, in the evenings quiet when pastor called us to
gather in the living room of the parsonage to sing Christmas carols, there was
that peace. The unity, solidarity, and solace I so craved came together in that
living room as we sang of peace, joy, the Babe in a manger, and God’s
unrelenting love toward all mankind which will one glorious day be made
complete and peace will be fully realized. The Spirit in that living room was
the same Spirit in the church. Those memories are dear to me, and I wouldn’t
trade them for a single thing in this life. I’m so grateful for Christ’s gift
to us and for the time of year we celebrate Him and feel His peace, joy, and
love embrace us afresh.
