I am glad that all of my daughters got married this year. They married fine young men. The problem, however, is that I have to share my children with another family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t think I like that. I told one of my daughters, “Why don’t you just send your husband to his parents’ house and you come to our house and you can meet up with him later.” She didn’t think that was a good idea. Gratefully, she is a lot more mature than I am. The older I get, the more I discover that what is most important to me at Christmas is not presents under a tree, but presence. I want to be surrounded by the people who love me and the people whom I love. And as much as I long for the presence of my children, how much more does my heavenly Father long for my presence with Him? At Christmas God sent His presence to us in Jesus Christ so He could be close to us and so that we get close to Him and know, that no matter how lonely we get, that we are never alone. People you love may have died, they may have moved away, or maybe they can’t get home this Christmas, and maybe you are alone or feel alone. But please don’t forget that the promise of Christmas is that God is with you.
– Dr. Tim Thompson