from one countdown to the next

My teammates both revel in and make fun of the fact that I'm the "countdown king" - always knowing the exact number of days until whatever event I'm looking forward to. For example, tomorrow is Crimsen's birthday. It's four days until my birthday, five until New Year's Eve and 22 days until Debi and Erica (my girlfriend and Ben's girlfriend) come to visit us in Sendai.

I've been counting down the days until Christmas since American Thanksgiving. We are big on Christmas tradition in this household - and as soon as American Thanksgiving has finished, the Christmas decor comes out and at least one entire day is devoted to transforming our home into a Christmas wonderland. The large Christmas tree, the candycane border, the warm garland, poinsettias and the prominently displayed Nativity set with a wooden star that hangs over it saying "I am the light of the world" all help in greeting our guests from year to year.

Christmas Day fell on a Sunday in this year's calendar, and the church in Sendai decided to use the opportunity to host a time of worship and celebration afterwards. All of the songs shared the progression of the biblical account of Jesus' birth and Ben's sermon focused on Isaiah 9 and John 1. Our party was simpler, but more fun than usual. However, this didn't allow for us to celebrate Christmas in "our way", so we decided to make Sunday night OUR Christmas Eve, and to spend today as OUR Christmas. Judith traveled from Hitachi to help complete "our family" and her friend, Chihiro also joined us.

Last night, we played games, laughed and talked, and ate summer sausage, cheese, crackers, fried chicken, veggies and cookies. Ben issued in a new tradition and insisted we watch his new favorite movie, "Elf". This morning, we took it slow and called family in North America to share our love for them and to wish them a Merry Christmas. Jon and Michiko returned around noon today, and then we emptied our stockings, opened gifts and had more time to relax. Our gift opening lasted 2 hours as we each took turns opening a gift or watching someone open a gift - several warm, thankful moments. Crimsen and I prepared our regular fanfare for our Christmas feast (turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, orange jello salad, cranberries, pickles and olives, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, apple pie and...(my favorite) Christmas trifle). Jon carved the turkey beautifully and made coffee throughout the day. Judith, Ben and Chihiro cleaned up, and Michiko managed not to have the baby today (I'm hoping the baby will come in four days for my birthday!). We closed the evening by reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (lots of laughs and tears) and watching Miracle on 34th Street. Chihiro reveled in the fact that we laughed and cried so hard while we read the book...even though we read it every year.

I love Christmas. I love the delight in people's eyes when they open gifts, and the tears that are shared in the meaningful moment of a giving and receiving of a gift. I love the memories we create, and the enjoyment of relationships shared and deepened. I love the fact that we have an opportunity to share about Jesus - a message of hope, joy, love and salvation for our world. Isaiah began a countdown for Jesus, one that Simeon confirms has happened as he gleefully holds the Messiah child and proclaims that this child will be The Light. As this year's Christmas comes a close, a new countdown has begun within our family. Perhaps the GREATEST moment for today was placing my hand on Michiko's stomach and feeling the baby hiccup in the womb. Somehow, the excitement and sense of hope about Jesus' birth seems so much more real as we wait for the Straker baby to become a part of us.

Every year, we celebrate a kept promise and countdown the days in expectation of the next fulfilled promise. Until then, Merry Christmas!