Abnormal Noël

Nothing is normal. I have forgotten what "normal" is. 

Here it is, the 21st of December, and we have not yet had time to watch some of our favorite Christmas movies. Normally, we would have watched each of them twice by now. I have JUST today baked my first batch of Christmas cookies. Normally, I would have made multiple varieties by now. And I have not wrapped one single present. Okay, I'll admit that one is pretty normal for me. But in most other ways, this has not been a normal Christmas season at all. 

And we are not normal. In France, they don't have stockings, candy canes, or an obsession with Christmas music. Our home is a bit of a novelty this time of year! But God has been giving us opportunities to use our "abnormality" to talk about the true meaning of Christmas.

David was interviewed for the local newspaper about our "American" Christmas traditions. Here's the article, where he describes how he makes homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas and how we give each of our boys three Christmas gifts, representing the three gifts of the magi.

I took some of my stash of Candy Canes to the ladies in my knitting group. Besides being an American novelty, I explained how the candy cane was invented by a candy maker who wanted to share the true meaning of Christmas--the shape represents the Shepherd's staff, and when turned around it is the letter J for Jesus. I explained that the red stripes represented the blood of Christ, which was shed to save us from our sins. They were very receptive, and I was thankful for the opportunity to have a spiritual conversation.

Different is our new normal. We're embracing it!

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