Back in 2017, my wife and I spent the year apart. I was helping a church in Regina and Miriam’s family obligations held her here. So, we took a deep breath, trusted God’s leading and agreed to a commuting arrangement where I was home 3 days each month. 

Twenty years ago, Miriam and I were gifted with a trip to Israel. It was and is memorable for me. Bustling markets with haggling merchants. The whiplash of driving from the high-rises of Tel Aviv to camels and bedouins in the desert. Bobbing by moonlight in the Dead Sea. Ascending Masada. It’s a journey you may have made and one I wish everyone could.

I’ve done this 65 times, so you’d think I would be proficient by now. For 65 years I have celebrated the Christmas season. Granted, the first few times, I was pretty much unaware. But it didn’t take me long to figure out that this season is special.

We all suffer from a Christmas disadvantage. I’m not talking about our ways or means to celebrate the season, but our position and perspective. All of us look back to the first Christmas. To celebrate Christmas, we remember what has already happened.

I know everyone I meet. Friend or stranger, older or younger, regardless of gender, ethnicity, language or culture - I already know them. You do too. Of course, there are differences among us and each is unique in their own identity, still on a basic level, we know each other.