Saint Thomas Lutheran

I was preparing last night to author a Thursday’s Thirst that basically said, “I am taking the day off,” until I watched the first hour the evening news. Every news story was distressing – missing children, abuse, murder, wildfires, problems in our government, … you name it, not a good or encouraging word.  And then came the sports … “Hey,” they said, “The Lions are great, but let’s not ignore the Wings or the Pistons, either.”  The entire sports account was saturated with good news!  In a world so filled with scary miseries, is there any wonder why we love our sports?

This got me thinking of all the variations of the original Christmas story that we find in cultures and in the songs we sing.  Take, for instance, The First Noel.  The word “noel” long ago grew to refer specifically to the birth of Christ, so my assumption is that the line “the first Noel the angel did say” means the first announcement of Christ’s birth.  I’m fine with that.  I’m even fine with the reference to a “cold winter’s night that was so deep,” even though we have no clue what the weather was like.

It would always disturb my mother when I would say, “I don’t really have many – if any – memories of my childhood.” Though I grew up in a healthy, Christian environment and was, as far as I remember, a happy child, my memories of my pre-high school years are extremely limited. I like to say that I was too focused upon enjoying the present to spend time hanging on to the past.