Around Christmas each year, I’m reminded of some of my favorite people who fully embody the holiday spirit. One who immediately comes to mind is my old boss, Angie. Angie and her husband owned a welding shop a few miles up the road from my parent’s house but before you start thinking I was hustling like that girl in Flashdance, don’t- I mostly did office work, inventory, and some other odds and ends around the shop.
I worked for Angie and her family during my junior and senior years of high school. It was the perfect part-time job for someone my age because it was close to my house and I learned a lot in terms of how payroll and taxes worked, among other things. She was also extremely flexible in working around my way-too-many school activities, which is something I always appreciated.
To know me is to know that I have a strong adoration for all things Christmas. It wasn’t always this way, but I give Angie credit for instilling an over-the-top kind of Christmas spirit in me. From Thanksgiving until the new year, I felt guilty for taking home a paycheck because the work we did that time of year hardly felt like work at all. Sure, there was still inventory to take and grain bin quotes to make, but there were also countless afternoons where we wrapped her family’s Christmas gifts, decorated their house for the holidays, or baked a fresh batch of cookies for when Kenny and Rosemary, Brian, Steve and the rest of the coffee crowd came around.
You see, working with Angie I learned a lot of things: I gained knowledge of Quickbooks, I became well-versed in submitting state and federal payroll deductions, and I got some of my first graphic design experience. But more importantly, Angie was a living, breathing reminder of how to share love with others at a point in my life when I was less than intentional in that arena. Angie was someone who taught me exactly how, especially in the holiday season, to share the good news.
“And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings… And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” -Luke 1:19, 26-28
In the nativity, the job Gabriel had to do was very simple but it was the one that set the stage for the rest of the events: to spread joy and good news. The excitement and hope that Gabriel shared with Mary started the anticipation for the arrival of Jesus Christ, prince of peace. The nativity, the story of that arrival, is one of the most marvelous stories we know and all of the very much-justified hype that goes with it is thanks, in part, to the good news from Gabriel.
Of course, the good news is that of the anticipation and arrival of Jesus. But that doesn’t have to be the only good news. Angie is a religious person, but her version of sharing the good news isn’t running to every farm in the township with a pocket Bible and a bullhorn. To Angie, sharing the good news is creating a space for supper or afternoon coffee where all are welcome. It’s making a thousand cookies and party mix in quantities measured in garbage bags to send to customers who are more like family, accompanied by a handwritten holiday note. It’s showing up for me and my family during a difficult holiday season not so long ago when we needed it most.
In a year that only seems to get weirder by the minute, it’s more important than ever to share the love this holiday season. You and I are going to feel some friction this Christmas in one way or another. Whether it’s the cancellation of long-time traditions or not getting to be around your loved ones this year, I think everyone acknowledges that “the most wonderful time of the year” may not be exactly that this time around. But that doesn’t mean we should walk through the season in vain, either.
We could all use some good news, so how do we embody Gabriel this holiday season and open our hearts when we aren’t able to open our doors? To be honest, I’m not sure yet. The downside of being a nut for Christmas is that when you aren’t able to be with your people doing the things you love it can be really, really hard. Since I moved into my new place earlier this year, the only thing I’ve been able to picture is all my favorite people hunkered down for Friendsgiving on a snowy weekend. I couldn’t wait until we’d gather around the living room in mismatched folding chairs, eating a massive meal and laughing until the sun came up the next morning. Even though I knew things were going to look different this year, acknowledging that my favorite friends-weekend can’t and won’t happen really stings.
I’m thankful my oversized friend group is still happy and healthy, and I know we will all survive without crowing my house to eat, drink, and be merry. But the emptiness I felt after canceling Friendsgiving was a bit of a wake-up call of how much more intentional we will all need to be this season in loving on and looking out for each other.
Out of a concoction of impatience, excitement, and a little sadness I threw on Nat King Cole’s holiday album and put my Christmas decorations up last weekend. I’m not sure if it’s some kind of garland-wrapped coping mechanism for the strange ways of this holiday season, but I hoped having my tree up would put me in the spirit a little more. One of the first items out of the totes was a small holy family that Angie made for me one Christmas. It’s simple, made of blocks of wood and some string. For the first holiday go-round in my new house, the craft made a home on top of my cabinets in my kitchen, somewhere I will see it every day. This year, I found it to be an especially-welcomed reminder of my holiday escapades with Angie and the way she spreads the love to those around her. But the more I looked at Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (who in this case are so simply made they don’t even have faces), the more I was reminded of our ability to spread the good news this Christmas season.
We may not have tree lighting ceremonies, family celebrations, or ugly sweater parties this year, but that doesn't mean we have nothing. While 2020 has been quite a ride I am quietly in the camp that, in some cases, it has been a good thing: The quirks of the pandemic have caused a social reset that we so desperately needed, resulting in more phone calls to grandparents, letters to friends, and taking Sunday drives for fun again. Just like the holy family Angie made maybe, just maybe, this Christmas is intended to teach us how to love and share simply.
I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing this year to fill the gaps in my typical Christmas traditions with friends and family I treasure, but I’ll figure it out. Even in a whacked-out world like this, there’s a lot of good news to share.
Get out there and share it, folks.
