So that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Philippians 2:15-16

Under my tree?

The obvious answer to the question goes like this: “All I want for Christmas is my family. To celebrate with Rebekah, along with Andrew, Alicia, Mr. T., Naomi, Craig, David, Beks, and Geoffrey.”

Just a quiet place somewhere with lots of bedrooms, a big kitchen, a sprawling back porch, and a long dining room table where we can all just hang out for a few days.

That’s what I want.

Of course, it’s not happening.

Lifetime achievement!

But it’s okay, really it is. Because I do have them – we do have them – in every way; and I’ve got to tell you that sense of joy is some kind of a lifetime achievement, any way you look at it.

Rebekah and I have grown this family moment by moment since that fateful Father’s Day in 1982 when Andrew made his remarkable but long overdue, “I think I’ll take my time – what’s an extra four weeks to you anyway?” appearance. Little by little we worked so hard to make sure he and then Naomi had all the tools necessary to make their way in the world.

And they did. They are. Along with Andrew’s Alicia and Naomi’s Craig. And those beautiful grandchildren; good grief they are making an impact we could not have possibly imagined.

God is that good. The Creator’s ideas are so amazing. The possibilities remain endless, and the promise the future holds is reflected in those phenomenal, prodigious, shining children.

Light and love and hope and promise, flooding out from this family via David, Beks, Mr. T., and Geoffrey.

Spilling over:

That’s really all I want for Christmas, to know that some of the prayers and promises Rebekah and I have sown into this world are beginning to bring fruit, to multiply, and to spill over – love and light wherever our children and grandchildren live.

I want the story my life tells to be an authentic witness to the Christ Child.

I want my real eloquence to be in words lived rather than words written.

I want to see the light these children are holding migrate into the lives of others too.

I want them to shine, with integrity, sharing a brilliant and nourishing light, like stars in the universe as they hold onto the World of Life.

In love, and because of love – DEREK