It’s a quiet Christmas morning.  My husband David is cooking his amazing crawfish etoufee as a Christmas gift for his uncle, our daughter (home from college) is sleeping late, and we’ll see our son and the rest of our families later today.  Last night was a choral Christmas Eve mass followed by a  gathering of family and friends at my mom’s house. I spent yesterday running back and forth between office and home (happily within walking – or running – distance) cooking gumbo for the evening meal and taking care of business.

David and I were reminiscing about Christmas mornings when the children were little, waking us up to come and see what Santa brought. Those were good times, and these are good times, too.  A bit less frantic, with more time to cherish togetherness.  We’re lucky because most of our families are nearby, and we can spend time with nearly everyone over Christmas.

On this Christmas morning, I am thinking of words from the hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name: “God incarnate, man divine.”  After all, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the incarnation.  And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

I’m reminded that the Incarnation means not only that God is with us, but also that God is in us.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  John 1:12-13 (NIV)

We are children of God, having “God DNA” so to speak.  If we are children of God, how can we ever be separate from God?  We can choose to act as though we are separate from God, but that’s not reality.
God works a miracle every time a baby is born, bringing another child of God into the world. That child can never be separate from God.  It’s my wish this Christmas day and every day that we may all recognize our place as beloved children of God.

For a Christmas musical gift, click here and choose an mp3 file to play “Rock My Baby Jesus.”