Well folks, it's Christmas Eve yet again. Wow how time flies! I remember a year ago today I was sitting in my Grandma's house in Cleveland. I was probably taking a nap around this time because earlier that morning, about 6am, I was woken up by the sound of a rat running across my floor....one of the most memorable Christmas Eve mornings I've had haha. And now, it's Christmas Eve morning again, and instead of my Grandma's house in Cleveland, or another family members house, I find myself in London, England 3,000 miles away from Cleveland, Ohio and the rest of my family in the States. It's a surreal feeling as you could image having arrived at this familiar day without experiencing any familiar people, surroundings, or traditions. It certainly makes me pause and think about what I appreciate most about this time of year.

In the past for me, a lot of this season has meant familiar faces, traditions, smells, good eats, decorations, and activities that my family carries on around this time. Thinking this year I won't be having any of that has been an odd sensation, but being here in the United Kingdom this year has also been such a blessing. This year I am surrounded by new faces, new traditions, and new activities that make up meaningful memories of the season for other people, and being welcomed into that experience has been very precious and sacred to me. I have always wanted to experience Christmas in another country and sharing moments of Christmas that have become precious to other people has become a treasured Christmas memory I will carry with me the rest of my life.

It's crazy how much can change year to year, but I find myself comforted with the thought that even if you celebrate the same traditions each year, with the same people and same surroundings, no year is quite like the last one. During my celebrations here in the UK, I came across a little Christmas book called Sharing Christmas Every Day by Helen Steiner Rice. I have taken to reading a few poems and devotionals from this book every night before I go to bed to keep up the familiar Christmas spirit during an unfamiliar Christmas year. As I read, one devotional especially stood out to me. Though I feel I have read these words and thought about these ideas before, they never really had as much meaning as they do for me this year. As I read Helen Steiner Rice's devotional called Love Unchanging, I find myself being inspired by the words written.

"Every family carries certain Christmas traditions from year to year and generation to generation. Some go to church on Christmas Eve, while others get up with their kids before dawn on Christmas morning. Maybe Grandmother always stuffs the turkey with oyster dressing or a certain aunt brings her amazing cherry pie. Traditions like these bring families together and give them a sense of heritage.
No matter how many traditions remain the same, however, no Christmas is exactly like the last. Maybe there's the happy addition of a new in-law or grandchild, or the silent sorrow of a loved one not present. Perhaps Christmas will be celebrated in a new home, or under circumstances very different from last year's.
Time may have changed how you will celebrate Christmas this year, but one thing time can never change-that's Jesus, God's greatest gift to us. Though Jesus' birth, God showed His compassion, His understanding, and His desire to embrace all people. God and His love will never change, because God never changes.
This Christmas, give thanks for the traditions you observe form year to year, for new experiences and new traditions you might begin, and most of all, for the people with whom you will share this dearest of holidays." -Helen Steiner Rice

This devotional has helped me stay focused on what is really important this year. Even though I am away from familiar family and traditions I still have so much to be thankful for. As the real reason for the season is Jesus coming to save the world, I am reminded that this greatest of celebrations can be shared with anyone and everyone no matter where you are in the world. Even though I am not next to my biological family today and tomorrow to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I can still celebrate with them miles away and with new friends and family just the same. I realize that it doesn't matter what Christmas looks like. The traditions you hold over the years make up who you are but having new experiences and choosing how you celebrate each year are just as much part of becoming who you are too and what makes Christmas for me is all those things combined.

For me this year, my Christmas list doesn't consist of objects and money, like admittedly it does most years. Instead this year, I have only two wishes for my Christmas list. #1. That my family at home and all families around the world will be happy. Even though things may change, loved ones come and go, and situations vary year to year, I hope my family and others will be able to appreciate the little things and the loved ones present with them this Christmas. I hope that despite the sadness and frustrations that this time of year often bring, people will remember the true meaning of Christmas and know that no matter what each year brings, good or bad, the good news has already come. Jesus Christ has died for our sins and we are saved. #2. I hope that my family and others around the world will be healthy. Even though we all go through up swings and down swings with our health, I pray this year and especially over the next few days that the health of the world can stand strong so that loved ones can be with one another this Christmas. I pray that my family at home stays healthy this year and the next so that even though I am not with them this year, I will be able to see them again and celebrate Christmas together again with them next year.

A blessed Merry Christmas to everyone.