Tradition

This was my article from the Nov/Dec MOPS newsletter.

Those of you who know me, may not know that I’m a fan of musicals. One of my favorites is “Fiddler On the Roof”. If you’ve never seen it, it’s about a Jewish family in Russia who is dealing with the changes in their family and community. The father sings this great song called “Tradition” . He doesn’t know why things have to change—after all, they’ve always been done that way.

Musicals aside—I’m sure most of us have traditions, especially around this holiday season. Baking something special, decorating the tree, going to grandmas, a favorite restaurant. When I was young, our tradition was cutting our own tree (well, my dad and brother did the cutting!) and then going to Pedro’s afterward for lunch.

Traditions are good—they cement our family relationships and give us something to look forward to. Hopefully, as you’ve become a mom, you’ve thought about some traditions you want to keep, or start with your own children.

One tradition that I hope all of us choose is teaching our children about the true meaning of Christmas— God, in a manger, born to save us all.

It’s easy to focus on all the fun of Christmas—snow, cookies, ringing bells, giving presents, stringing up lights both inside and outside, visiting Santa at the mall, watching old Christmas movies, caroling.

Let’s not lose sight of the real tradition—the tradition that God shares with us each year of remembering how very much He loves us. There’s no better gift you can give your children this year then teaching them about Jesus. There’s no better way to celebrate the season then to take some time to focus our attention on the story of Christmas. If you don’t already, why not start a new tradition?