Dianna Buchwalter

  "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief; like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not." — Isaiah 53:3 “It doesn’t feel like Christmas, Mom,” my thirteen-year-old said recently. I suggested it might be because she’s getting older. When we’re children, there’s a magical quality to Christmastime. Excitement fills the air as we imagine twinkling lights, warm sugar cookies , and shiny gifts beneath the tree. But as we grow up, life becomes more complicated—sometimes in wonderful ways, and sometimes not. For those blessed with children of their own, the “magic” of Christmas can reappear as we experience it through their eyes. But children grow up, too, and eventually, we may find ourselves back in a place where Christmas doesn’t feel quite as joyful or “Christmassy” (if that’s even a word) as it once did. We all navigate different seasons of life. Perhaps you’re a young adult overwhelmed with little on...

The clock read 5:36 a.m. I had four minutes until the dreadful sound of the alarm would go off.  Everything in me wanted to stay snuggled under the covers but there was work to be done. With one eye open and flashlight in hand, I made my way to my daughter’s room where I pried Mittens the elf out of her arms. I then gathered up Christopher, my son’s elf and stood there asking “what shenanigans can these crazy rascals get into this morning?” Thirty minutes later, I saw Ava peek from around the corner and ask me in a soft tone with slight lisp the same question she had for days “where’s Mittens?” Their scavenger hunt began as they ran from room to room with such anticipation of what they would find. Moments later I heard my most favorite sound on the planet. Both of my little ones chuckled as they discovered their bathroom covered in toilet paper and the two elves sitting ever so innocently on the towel rack. In the middle of that normal Thursday morning, after I mad...