By Gueary Clendening
Many years ago, My wife, Linda, and I lived in Illinois. Memories of driving to southern Illinois to spend Christmas with her family are truly cherished! On one particular Christmas, we left on Christmas Eve, driving down on Interstate 57. We traveled at night and had the car radio tuned to KMOX, a St. Louis, Mo., station. During Christmas Eve, the station would visit several area churches and broadcast their Christmas Eve services live. The drive of 210 miles in the snow to Southern Illinois was so much fun-as we listened to Christmas choirs celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Linda’s parents lived on the outskirts of a small town. It didn’t matter if it was Christmas or another time, Linda’s dad would often be sitting at a window watching for our arrival. I would blow the car horn and blink the lights as we drove into their yard. These gatherings were so refreshing. The girls would be in the kitchen, preparing the Christmas dinner. The aroma of the food cooking and the chatter coming from the kitchen was just the right environment for me to lie down on the sofa and take a nap.
Linda’s dad always kept a small pony for the grandchildren. There wasn’t much riding, but regardless of how cold it was, he always wanted a picture of the children on the pony!
I’m sure you can imagine what dinner was like. And then came dessert time! For Linda, it was a German chocolate cake with double icing. For my brother-in-law, Earl, it was a chocolate pie, and I got a coconut pie. All were homemade by Linda’s mother.
There was something special that would always happen! Before opening gifts, we would read the Christmas story of the birth of Christ and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God sending His son. But something else would happen at the dinner table. We all knew this would occur, we just didn’t know when. Linda’s dad would begin to speak these words, “I am the happiest and richest man in the world, I have all of my family together.”
There would always be tears that followed. His words mean more to me now as time passes. Several sitting at that table have passed into eternity and I look forward to the day of finally being reunited with them forever!
His words remind me of God’s greatest desire for us. It’s found in Ephesians 1:9-10: “God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us. It is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago, according to his good pleasure. And this is the plan: at the right time, he will bring everything together, both in Heaven and on Earth.” God’s ultimate plan is to have all his family home with him forever!
I trust you are planning to be there! According to John 14:6, Jesus is the way to his father. We soon will be celebrating the birth of Christ. If you are not a part of God’s family, this would be a wonderful time to reserve your place at God’s dinner table! (Read John 1;12 and Romans 10:12-13. See you at the table. Merry Christmas!
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