HEAVENLY HOST

“Thank You, Lord!” I hung my mop up with smug satisfaction and took one last look at the Hallmark Christmas I had worked for weeks to manufacture. 

I checked my watch. Two, maybe three minutes to soak in the sparkles.

30 seconds later, a car door slammed, and a stampede of stocking feet slid past me with a squeal into the snow. December blew in as my children returned, dragging suitcases and cousins behind, leaving a slushy trail down the hall.

“Merry Christmas?” I called after my young guests but heard no reply.

I resisted the urge to wipe footprints and turned my attention to the backdoor. Because while the shepherds had a host of angels, and the wise men had a star, I had my sister-in-law, Mary, announce the Christ Child’s birth each year. 

“Merry Christmas!!! We made it!!” she yelled with contagious joy, her arms laden with bags of unwrapped presents. She dropped them at my feet with a thud and a hug.

“Got that coffee pot on, Sis? Any tape? Bows?”

“Um, yes?” I left to retrieve the supplies somewhat reluctantly, trying not to think of my own Santa gifts wrapped and ready under the bed, my guarantee of a stress-free evening. 

On the way back, a giggling crowd pushed past, fists full of sugar cookies. A bulb shattered in the distance. “Sorry!”

“No eating in the bedrooms?” I protested weakly, grabbing the broom to prepare for a well-ordered holiday plan to come unwrapped.

Instead of sipping cocoa, the night before Christmas was spent kneeling beside Mary on the hardwood floor once the house fell silent. 

Tree lights danced across our aching backs into the wee hours while we cut, taped, and tied our way into a corner, then gingerly stepped back through the packages to admire our work, arm in arm, knowing it would all come undone before dawn.

“Nice job, Santa,” Mary whispered in reverent appreciation-a few simple words that said so much more.

As I crawled into bed, a host of Heavenly angels filled my tired heart like the Bethlehem sky so long ago.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men*," they sang.

A perfect interruption of an otherwise quiet evening, leading to the greatest Gift of all.

*Luke 2:14