Christmas highlights Emmanuel – God with us

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of occasional letters by columnist Paul Graves to his grandchildren.

Dear Katie, Claire and Andy,

It’s Christmas in two weeks, kids. So let’s pretend we’re perched on the top of Mount Crumpit with The Grinch. We’re beside that teetering sleigh of presents he stole from the Whos in Whoville.

Grinch is waiting to hear the cries of BOO-HOO from all the Whos. He’s ruined their Christmas.

But what does he hear? He hears merry singing from every Who down in Whoville. “He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!…

“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!”

The Grinch quickly learned that Christmas is a deep mystery. Deeper than he could ever imagine.

When his small heart grew three sizes that day, the Grinch uncovered only a small part of the mystery.

The mystery of Christmas, kids, is even bigger than the Grinch’s new, generous heart. That’s because Christmas doesn’t begin with how wonderful we might feel about each other.

Christmas begins with God becoming a person.

“Why would God do that, Grandpa?” you ask. I’m very glad you asked, Katie, Claire and Andy.

God has greater reasons than we can ever fully understand.

I think two of the reasons are these: A baby was the best hands-on way for God to show how much God loves us; and God also wants us to learn what life can be like when we let God live in us.

When the angel Gabriel first told Mary she would be pregnant with God’s child, Gabriel said the boy’s name would be Jesus. It means “God saves his people.” Later, another angel visited Joseph and told him Mary was pregnant with God’s child, and his name would be Jesus.

Then the angel told Joseph that the boy would also be called Emmanuel. That means “God with us.” I like that name for Jesus.

It’s a fun word to say. And more importantly, the word reminds me that even though Jesus is no longer a flesh-and-blood person, God is still with us. God is always with us.

It might sound a little strange to you, kids, but I thought about that a few weeks ago when Grandma and I spent time with Papa looking through Granny’s cedar chest. Kids, I don’t think any of you had ever seen the cedar chest before Granny died.

It’s been like a family legend for many years, even before your daddy was born. We never knew all that Granny kept in the cedar chest.

I used to think the chest was a bottomless pit. Whenever we would ask where something was, Granny would say, “Oh, it’s probably in the cedar chest.” It was a mystery.

Well, it’s a mystery no longer. In recent years, Granny used it for storing a few ordinary things. But much of what we found there was still special.

Papa bought the cedar chest for Granny over 65 years ago, before they were married. It was a Christmas gift for her.

The beautiful chest became her “hope chest.”

As is the hope-chest custom, Granny put things in the chest that she would use after she was married. These things reminded her of all she hoped for in her new life with Papa.

After I was born, Granny used the cedar chest to save certain clothes I wore as a baby and as a little boy.

What was in Granny’s cedar chest? We’ll show those things to you soon, maybe when we are together for Christmas this year.

What is most important to remember is that these clothes and other items held special memories for Granny as she grew older.

Granny’s cedar chest memories are now our memories to cherish. I first learned about human love from Granny and Papa when I was a baby. So the chest holds love memories.

I first learned about God’s love from Granny and Papa. So the chest holds God memories also.

Soon, Papa will want someone else in the family to care for this special chest that he and Granny had for so very long. If I have a vote, that “someone else” will be Katie and Claire. Then you girls can begin to gather some of the things that contain special memories of your lives as they unfold before you.

Christmas is always a time to create your own memories of God’s love, kids. It doesn’t take a cedar chest to store those memories.

But in our family, a cedar chest helps. One day, it might even contain Grandma’s copy of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

Emmanuel love to each of you,

Grampa Graves