Last week we had the joy of welcoming grandchild #5 into the world and to our family. Apparently, Zakkai Patton had been listening to the news and put off his entrance as long as possible (he was almost two weeks “overdue”).
Can’t say I blame him.
Nevertheless, December 1 becomes highlighted on our calendar as another special day. Two of our other grandchildren also have December birthdays—the 14th and the 18th. Month-long celebrations in the Bice family!
Anticipating Zakkai’s arrival got me wondering how these young parents are feeling, bringing a child into the world in its current state.
It’s not the same as when our kids were born in the mid-80s. Reagan was president, the economy was stable (as I recall), the Cold War had thawed with the collapse of the USSR. The nation itself was substantially at peace. Generally, people were far more civil in the public square.
Quite a bit different from today’s chaos.
Are today’s young moms and dads anxious about the world their children will grow up in and inherit? About how they’ll process it all and cope?
But then, it occurs to me that children are oblivious, really, to the chaos. They have no point of reference, no awareness that things are any better or worse than previous generations.
After all, I had no clue.
Talks of nuclear war…bomb shelters…anti-war protests…youth rebellion…and everything else that made the world a tumultuous place during my childhood was lost on me. Oh sure, I knew most of it was happening, but still got up every morning, went to school (with bomb drills!), played outside until dark, had plenty to eat, clothes to wear…. And I’m still surviving in my mid-60s.
And then I thought about some of the stories we’ve heard coming out of Ukraine, with young mothers fleeing their homes and country, only to give birth as refugees in Poland, Germany, or some other foreign land. What, if any, are their hopes? What are their fears?
Or what about the thousands of children born into famine or extreme poverty…or urban ghettos?
Then I looked back a bit in history.
There was a time it was not uncommon for a mom to give birth to half a dozen or more children in her lifetime, but see only half or fewer survive into adulthood. What was it like for young expectant couples in such a time to look around at the neighbors in grief, and wonder, “Will our child make it?”
The world can be a cruel, dark, painful place to grow up in. And try as caring parents may, they’ll not shelter the little ones from it forever!
Light!
Last night, we finally got the tree decorated for Christmas. I must admit, it’s not my favorite activity of the year. I hate trying to detangle the lights. By the way, why is it that no matter how carefully you pack them away in January so they won’t tangle, they still tangle!?! And I really hate it when you plug in a string of lights and only half light up. What happened in the last 11 months? They all worked before!!
Once the light battle is done, I’m good. We pull out the dated ornaments from our 42 years of marriage. We purchased most of them on our best vacation of the year. 2020 was Breckenridge, Colorado…2021, Zion National Park…2022, Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior in Minnesota…and so on. We’ve collected several from Vermont through the years. Each one holds memories. Those memories evoke various emotions: gratitude…joy…sadness…nostalgia….
Among the collection are several “Baby’s 1st Christmas” ornaments…our own children, and theirs. We’ve yet to get Zakkai’s, but soon.
Our nine-year-old grandson helped me put the topper on the tree. Time to admire our work, enjoy the lights, the ornaments, the glittering garland, and a kolachky or two.
Grammy, holding 5-day-old Zakkai, brought him to the tree.
His eyes lit up at the colorful lights. Mesmerized, he simply stared wide-eyed. They were eyes of wonder, of delight, of joy, of hope. Here in this cruel, dark, painful world was something to look at that offered solace from it all.
And it occurred to me why we put lights on the tree in the first place.
Why?
Because of Christmas!
When the angel stood before the shepherds, the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were engulfed in an indescribable angelic light.
When the magi headed west from their home in Chaldea, they did so prompted by starlight. And eventually, that same starlight miraculously directed them to the very place where the infant Jesus was staying.
And what of the baby?
He, too, entered a world of cruelty and darkness and pain. Within weeks of his birth, an unsuccessful attempt to murder him was ordered. But though Mary was spared the grief of a slaughtered son, other mothers were not so fortunate.
What of this baby…Jesus, who survived? Why, he himself is the light so desperately needed amid the world’s darkness!
At the beginning of his gospel record, John spoke of Jesus as the Light:
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.… The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
– John 1:4-5, 9
In his adulthood, Jesus also referred to himself as such.
“I am the light of the world,” He said. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
– John 8:12
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
– John 12:46
Because of the true Light, Christian parents can have their eyes wide open to the evil, darkness, and pain of the world, yet joyfully bring children into it. They don’t need to cower in fear, terrified that the little ones will be engulfed in the darkness.
As the Apostle John did two millennia ago, they simply, earnestly, faithfully point those youngsters to the Light of the world.
They diligently pray for their eyes to be opened to see the Light plainly, that it would shine brightly in their hearts, even as the Apostle Paul testified:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
– 2 Corinthians 4:6
They may reasonably hope that their children will be numbered with those Paul referred to:
“For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:5
And that God would graciously number them among those who comprise “…a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…” Those whom God calls “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
And that when this world of woe finally collapses and the Creator God brings forth a new earth, their little ones whose eyes light up in the glow of Christmas lights may dwell forever where…
“… night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
– Revelation 22:5
So yes, little ones, welcome to the world…but may the Light of the world shine brightly into your hearts—far more brightly and more lasting than glimmering lights on the tree!
