Pastor’s Corner: Merry Christmas!

December 19, 2018

As I write this, it’s not quite here: the gift I’ve been a-waiting.
As you read this, it’s nearly here: the gift I’ve been a-waiting.
A gift of love. A gift of joy. A gift of a girl. A gift of a boy.
In the eyes of God, it’s always here: the gift I’ve been a-waiting.

My big gift this year is to celebrate Christmas with both my children for the first time in three years. We entered that stage of life a few years ago where their adult responsibilities and mine don’t always align. I remember putting my parents through that (*cough*, *cough*) years ago. It was sad when we had to make some other arrangement for a holiday. And it came as something of a shock to everyone to realize that I had to work on Christmas Eve!

As the years went on, we adjusted. For one thing, we added more ministers to the family, and Christmas schedules got even more complicated. Large family gatherings started happening earlier in the month. Christmas Eve lunch became a favorite for my parents, my brother, my children, and me.

This year we adjust with two young people making their way to Hilo. What a gift.

I wrote above that in the eyes of God, they’re always here. They’re always in my heart and in my mind, for certain. I believe that God also sees our relationships without the barriers of space and time. In God’s vision, my children and I are strongly connected wherever we may be. In God’s vision, my parents and I are just as strongly connected, although both of them have departed from this life.

In the eyes of God, we are always together, and we laugh at space and time.

I pray that you may feel all the deepest connections with your loved ones this holy season, whatever obstacles there may be. I pray that you may be always together, and laugh at space and time.

With aloha,

Pastor Eric