%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 18 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 13 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 14 0 R /I2 15 0 R /I3 22 0 R /I4 23 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 16 0 R /GS2 17 0 R /GS3 20 0 R /GS4 21 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241125051643+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241125051643+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2046 >> stream xXMsWq"))Ԯ;n=drHHĚ$8ZgLRmLUN)E"n*M4OsҟTURkzl%e$=ʁn[%e`?WL4e;\)eRج%⸾T-wft>7x}?qw%M%U*Mphz[ϯ,EAUIV8Łϻ <a5 C f/w9hNcUkTҹD^$ ^CCڐiЧs&IK~dۇǏ=ݏ}Ӌ yR3K)r{)1&nUtGR=ѵ 1,e^A$&KG#&ِk#G8HJUBĔc kF>*#ۋ^Qwr3_f&O#j=+)DN7GX"~OjOy(VI^jd55"І>`a;H6;)<U+k^52af V cIN t|m`#k`}B$0G\kP fU#1^-e[j4hF I hIilYz)bZQ061RpKr_u<)pT3udt/f|C;{yjhXW<.ߔ&,!a1?ȸ#I0xaG4;XC{aAqD,F&1n {uQXV P܈`q0ȿs9nW&U`..b%g4{D?i1 sF4:p!^?B0 Y~A\1{]Zme2ܲabc+ߧ_f~d"{emT}M0@7z6Q5|z+k)kz 5xy6Efet`rć糭=V&^tQÀ<pP_nO)hPv=R V* 4?CТ@5V.Tut*}EXAzZF皝W q~,;Y 怸DaV"^"Np Ҡ6 !'^ϫ2@֎vñ&6i^a/I~'phΫnbU~ M vfhxv~4k9oz LhLBz4px]&'SE-xd%()Ic9!L>b訆Lyj[!v,"g8L_QˑK)EމeXL OwL ;>u!R([+kwy!!^6N $A?cUNwxxv s0^yoH4,I;abbutģHₐXRIx~ UG 28=NV`oϲWW<6/T&x>Maع d=D#(Ȓ_H˜!\ʪMI+^f][w,s>~^_rsh`/Q% ` endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 19 0 R >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 531 >> stream xSKo0ﯘc+m1]r3M.mnU [ۻ(aE{=}6))` w}$76IVCܤ/<9eap>VV|ո :In> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 24 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000450 00000 n 0000000487 00000 n 0000000636 00000 n 0000000739 00000 n 0000002858 00000 n 0000002965 00000 n 0000003073 00000 n 0000003183 00000 n 0000003296 00000 n 0000003325 00000 n 0000003435 00000 n 0000009010 00000 n 0000010141 00000 n 0000010200 00000 n 0000010259 00000 n 0000010364 00000 n 0000010968 00000 n 0000011025 00000 n 0000011082 00000 n 0000016657 00000 n trailer << /Size 24 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<60ba5deca07dae5161b93ac142bb96e0><60ba5deca07dae5161b93ac142bb96e0>] >> startxref 17788 %%EOF When Christmas is green | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

When Christmas is green

December 14, 2006
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

CHRISTMAS REFLECTION

by

When I was a child growing up in Southern California, I always prayed that it would snow on Christmas Day. This would require a small miracle, of course—but I knew that God could pull it off if he so desired (or if I could sway him). My pleas would commence around Thanksgiving, and might even last through the morning hours of Christmas Day, if I were feeling particularly earnest. However, Christmas temperatures seldom ever dipped below mildly cool. One exceptionally warm Christmas, I watched with disdain as my neighbors played basketball in shorts and tank tops. Sure, it was over eighty degrees that day. But didn’t they at least have the decency to pretend it was cold outside?

I don’t have to explain myself to you, dear Reader. Everyone understands what it means to be “dreaming of a white Christmas.” It is the idyllic, romantic picture of the holiday. Somewhere in the last 2000+ years our image of Christmas morphed from a warm night in a Middle Eastern desert to a snow-filled day where carolers scuttle about in muffs and scarves. As an adult, I did finally experience a few snowy Noels while living in Colorado. But they weren’t as perfect as I thought. I found myself actually yearning for those green California holidays. I had the snow I’d always wanted, but I missed the Carr family (my family of origin) and our detailed litany of Christmas rituals.

I gave up my Christmas fantasies years ago. My dinner table will never look like the one in the magazine, I’ll never have the perfect tree, my extended family may never be fully accounted for in one room, and I will never again get to sing carols in the living room of the house in which I grew up. I will never meet my father-in-law this side of Jordan, and he will never laugh and play with his grandchildren or carve our Christmas turkey. He died, by the way, on Christmas day. My husband, Rob, was 18. His absence is keenly felt in Rob’s heart every year.

But Rob and I have learned to look around us and enjoy what we do have. Which is a lot, by the way.
I suppose Mary was disappointed that she didn’t have a real cradle for her firstborn child. I suppose she regretted the fact that her mother wasn’t there for the birth, that the nursery wasn’t set up, that she didn’t have cute baby booties. It wasn’t the perfect birth scenario a soon-to-be mother imagines. I wonder if Joseph was disappointed, too. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. He hadn’t slept with this young woman yet, and she was giving birth. He couldn’t even secure a room for the night.

And yet, into the imperfection of the first Christmas night came a perfect Savior. Here was the One, the only One, who could restore us both to God and to each other. His entrance was meek, for he came as an infant. And yet, his entrance was wildly invasive. Think of it: God as man. God amongst us. The perfect dwelling with the imperfect.

Into our flawed Christmases, into our failed lives, comes a perfect Savior. Perhaps, indeed, everything is just as it should be.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like