Our home is quiet. Quieter than it’s been in 25 years. Long gone is the pitter-patter of little feet.  So too, are the piles of laundry or shoes littering the stairs—evidence of teenagers sequestered with friends in the “play” room upstairs. Cash, our beagle, is the child in our house these days—probably more spoiled than our girls ever were. They will admit to that without hesitation!

This is the first year leading up to Christmas that we have been without at least one of our daughters during the holiday season. It has a different feel. One is married and the other moved an ocean away last April. Whilst it has been a transition (that’s a post for another time), most days are quiet. A little lonely at times perhaps, but also a consistent simplicity in the way the house runs. Different, but good at the same time. I suppose in all this, I am patiently adapting to this new season of life.

This Christmas, gone are the advent boxes and childish handcrafted ornaments that once adorned the tree. The copious amounts of colourful, DIY mementos are safely tucked away, with only a cherished few finding their place on our tree with its simpler form of decorating.

There is, however, one craft that faithfully comes out every year—by far my favourite. It pays homage and serves as a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas. It is Simply Jesus.

When one of my girls was in nursery school, she made a little baby Jesus out of shredded, faded, white socks. There is a stuffed body and head, and the limbs are strips of material, very unevenly cut. There is a sweet little face adorned with a smile and beady eyes (drawn with a black sharpie) and a tiny curl of hair glued to the top.

I remember when she brought him home, she was just overjoyed! She carried him around and spent much of her time taking care of him.

That Christmas, we swaddled her baby Jesus in white cotton cloth and laid him in a carefully wrapped brown paper box, with shredded paper to mimic hay like the real baby Jesus would have been laid upon. Little did we know at the time, but this would become the traditional first gift opened by our family, every Christmas morning.

On the lid of the box is printed this verse: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 ESV).

Such a profound verse.

In the stillness of a dark and chaotic time, God Himself came to this world in the form of a sweet baby. This child would fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah. His birth was nothing elaborate. No pomp and circumstance. Only a humble birth and a newborn in a manger.

Simply Jesus

Yet He, this tiny infant, was to hold titles that no other who has ever been born can claim. Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.

Wow. Think of it.

Four hundred years of silence from God had passed. His people had heard nothing. Yet they waited, with the promise of Scripture that He would come. He would meet their need when the time was right.

Anticipation

The expectation that God’s promise through the prophet Micah would someday come to pass.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2 NKJV).

God’s silence during that period was merely a precursor to the greatest act of His redemptive plan. He did not forget His people then.  He does not forget His people now. He does not desert us in places of heartbreak. He doesn’t abandon us in places of loneliness. He does not leave when others do. He never gives up on us when we give up on ourselves. He remembers and His timing is perfect.

Luke’s gospel tells us about a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem.

“He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. When Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of your people Israel!’” (Luke 2:25-32 NLT)

Simeon was spiritually in tune with God. He had spent his life holding on to the promise that God would send a deliverer. And here He was! Jesus—the promised Messiah! Through all those years of silence and before then, God had a plan. It was simply Jesus. Simeon, filled with delight, recognized this little baby as the Savior and praised God for His faithfulness.

Friends, what would Simeon say to us?

When the silence seems loud, remember that God is faithful. Believe God’s promises. He has a plan and a purpose in all things. Use the silence to be in prayer. Hold on with patient expectation for what He has planned for your future. When you’re in the throes of chaos, let the noise find its silence and remember who this promised child is.

Our Wonderful Counselor. Our Mighty God. Our Everlasting Father. Our Prince of Peace. He is …

Simply Jesus.

Over the years, that little brown box has been tossed around between “getting Christmas out and putting Christmas away” as we so ineloquently phrase the action of decorating for the holidays.

And whilst this first gift, that gets packed away every year, is a family reminder of the story behind Christmas, we can joyfully keep the actual gift of Christmas year-round, because Jesus remains with us. He is in our hearts and hopefully, in our homes too.

So perhaps this year, I will put a pretty ribbon on our first Christmas gift—not to embellish it, but as a simple reminder that draws attention to the fact that it is the most remarkable gift to us.

One that we eagerly await, like Simeon did.