Last night I was an envelope lick away from becoming the Grinch who stole Christmas card joy.
I mean, writing addresses the old-fashioned way, sticking on stamps and return labels, and stuffing envelopes with evidence of all your family’s imperfections doesn’t exactly scream holiday cheer. But my kids were “helping” and truly enjoying trying to get the labels on nice and straight, so we Christmas carded on.
At one point, my daughter, in very big-sisterly fashion, paused to point out to her brother, “This is Mama, this is Daddy, this is Sissy, and this is YOU!”
“Yep, that’s us,” I thought. That’s Daddy trying to hold a pose while simultaneously attempting to tickle a smile out of you. That’s me, trying to balance some of the little man’s weight on my hip so my arms don’t fall off. That’s Sissy with the look that says, “I know you want me to ‘cheese’, but I’ll do it on my own terms”. And that’s Baby Brother, who neither sits still long enough to get a decent haircut, nor keeps a hat on for more than a few minutes to cover up the hack job. That’s us, with our telling faces and camo and jeans and beloved mountains. Together.
Our photographer did a darn good job of capturing the fam in all our quirky glory and making us look good, if I do say so myself. However, the main point of the whole card-sending tradition shouldn’t be to show off our smiles, but rather to make others smile. Not just to say “Have a great holiday season!” or “Hey, a new kid was born”, but to say also that Jesus was born and He’s our reason for celebrating this season.
Maybe you mail annual picture cards like I do, or perhaps you’re a paper card, musical card, or e-card sender. Maybe your family’s photo session felt like a flop, or maybe someone is missing from the picture altogether. Whichever camp you’re in, please send it anyway. Send out the card, and send up a prayer for the recipient. Because there is still magic in opening a mailbox or inbox to discover that someone has expended time and genuine effort to make a connection with you. And that, my friends, is a joy I hope we can keep Facebook, Instagram, and Grinches from stealing.