Unwrapping Christmas (11 page)
“Mom, is it all right if Nick comes over this afternoon? We wanted to listen to his new iPod and hang out.”
Rose caught her breath. Anna’s expression turned expectant, waiting for her mother’s reaction. After hesitating a second too long, Rose nodded. “Sure, that would be fine.”
“You don’t really like him, do you?”
Rose sighed. “I know you’re growing up, but I’m not ready for you to get serious about anyone yet.”
“Well, Mom. Serious happens.”
“Yeah, it does. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Anna laughed, and Rose glanced up, surprised. “Mom. I know what you’re worried about, but Nick’s a solid guy. He may look a little rough around the edges, but he’s strong in his faith and so am I. We both plan to go on to college and finish our education. If it works out between us, fine. If it doesn’t, well, that’s fine too, but either way, we enjoy each other’s company right now.
That’s all it amounts to. If the situation changes, I’ll let you know.”
It was that situation changing that worried Rose. If Nick had been a little less Nick, it would have helped. She bit her lip and looked up to meet her daughter’s eyes. “You grew up too fast. You changed from a little girl to a young woman while I wasn’t looking.”
She had just put her finger on the problem. She hadn’t been looking. While she was running the town, taking care of everyone else, her children had grown up.
IRELAND
Nollaig Shona Duit
On Christmas Eve, in honor of the infant Jesus, the youngest family member is chosen to light a candle in the window. Th e light is a welcome to any who, like Mary and Joseph, might be looking for shelter. The candle burns all night long, and wanderers who pass by are given food and money. After church services on Christmas Day, families distribute baked goods to friends and relatives. Th e season ends on January 6, which is known as “Little Christmas.”
On New Year’s Eve, Rose and Joey sat in the kitchen nook alone. In a little while, Eric and Anna were going to the youth Watch party at the church. Nick was driving them, and if he minded having Eric tag along, he was hiding it well. The three were in the living room now singing tunes a tad off key. Nick had brought his guitar and seemed to be encouraging Eric to learn how to play. Their laughter filled the house.
Joey grinned. “I don’t think they’re ready for
American
Idol
, do you?”
Rose shook her head. “They’re loud — does that count?”
“Giving it all they’ve got.” He lifted his coffee cup. “I think they’re planning to debut tonight at the Watch party.”
Rose moved her cup a few inches to the left, brushing away imaginary crumbs. “You don’t mind staying home
tonight?”
“Get real. I love it! We can turn on the television and have a quiet Watch party of our own. Pop some corn, play some old CDs.”
Clearing her throat, she looked up. “I wanted to talk to you about that. Would you care if I went out?”
Surprise flashed across his features. “Without me? You’re not completely healed yet. It’s too soon for you to resume normal activities.”
“I don’t intend to ever resume ‘normal’ activities,” she assured him. “I told you about Blyth’s son, the one on drugs.”
“Yes?”
“She sits home alone and waits for him. Tonight’s going to be tough. She’s bound to be more worried than usual. I thought I’d go sit with her until Frank comes home.”
Joey was silent for a minute, and then he smiled. “You know, I don’t think I’d mind staying home alone. You go be with Blyth. We have the rest of our lives together, and I think she needs you tonight.”
Rose eased out of the chair and walked around the table to sit on his lap. She draped her arms around his neck. “You know, I really do love you.”
“I know. It’s because I’m so darn lovable.” She snickered.
His arms closed around her and they kissed. They were alone in the world for a moment. A very short moment.
“Hey, you guys, cut out the mush!” Rose opened her eyes to see Eric leaning against the kitchen doorframe. “Can’t we leave you two alone for a minute?”
Nick and Anna hovered behind him, grinning. Joey tightened his arms around Rose. “Go back to your music. If we need you, we’ll call.”
The kids laughed and disappeared to the living room. Joey rested his cheek against hers.
“We’ve got a lot to be thankful for, Mrs. Bergmen.”
“God’s been good. Better than we deserve.”
And from now on, she was going to take better care of what he had given her.
Later, Rose hobbled up Blyth’s porch steps. Christmas tree lights spilled from the window to the porch floor. A wreath hung on the door. She reached out and caught a snowflake blown into the shelter of the porch. Opening her gloved hand, she examined the tiny creation, different from any other flake. For the first time ever, she felt like she was looking upon the face of God.
Closing her eyes, she shivered, experiencing the true Christmas spirit — a week late, but no less awesome. She pressed the doorbell.
Blyth opened the door almost immediately, curiosity coloring her dark eyes. Rose understood her surprise. They really didn’t know each other that well, just worked at the thrift store together on alternate weeks. Worry lines etched Blyth’s face.”
“Rose? Goodness, should you be out in this weather . . .and so soon after your fall?” She held the door against the swirling snow.
“I’m okay, just stiff and sore.” She lifted her bandaged wrist. “I have plenty of aspirin. It’ll do me good to get out for a while.”
Blyth stepped aside, allowing her entrance to the foyer. She appeared to hold back, her eyes questioning why Rose was there. They had never visited in each other’s homes.
Rose unwound her scarf, welcoming the house’s warmth. “I thought I’d sit with you tonight until your son gets home.”
Blyth’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widened, and then her features crumpled as tears welled to her eyes. She stepped into Rose’s waiting arms. “Thank you . . . thank you so very much.”
“My pleasure,” Rose murmured, holding her tightly.
Tonight really was the start of a new beginning, the start of a ministry that could change the world, or at least change Rose’s part of the world. She took a deep breath, silently echoing Blyth’s thoughts.
Thank you, Father, thank
you so very much.
God never ceases to amaze me. While I was writing this novella, I received an email from a close writing friend, Hannah Alexander. She had received the following letter, and she thought it was so profound in its simplicity, so beautiful, that she wanted to share it. While the subject concerns situations a writer faces, the concept is the same in our personal lives.
Every word expressed in this note is the very essence of what I hoped to convey in
Unwrapping Christmas
. The author of the note, Karen Hancock, said it so much more eloquently. I feel that God sent the letter to help me convey the message.
I approached Karen with the idea of including her letter at the end of my story, and she graciously agreed. My Christmas prayer is that Karen’s words will bless and minister to you, enrich your life, and boost your spiritual walk, as much as they have mine.
Merry Christmas!
Lori Copeland
Karen Hancock
Jesus was never in a hurry. He accomplished the greatest work a man ever accomplished in only three and a half years, yet he was never worried or hurried or flustered or stressed. He wasn’t concerned with building a big ministry, either, nor was he rushing off to do this or that, urging his disciples to get this or that, going to see such and such. He stopped and talked to the people who came into his life without checking his watch. His disciples did not stand at his elbow reminding him he had to be in Capernaum by sundown or Jerusalem by the next day. Sometimes he just went fishing.
The thing that struck me was that sometimes it’s okay to do nothing. Because this concept is bound up in what I am learning about the creative process, I find this especially exciting. After a cell is finished dividing there is a period of rest before anything else happens. If cell division is about growth, and it is, then growth is about rest. This seems an obvious fact when you look at children, who grow at prodigious rates and yet need a lot of rest. Even as adults God has created us to require about eight hours of sleep every night. Americans seem on a headlong charge to do away with rest and sleep as quickly as possible.
Article after article documents the growing epidemic of sleep deprivation and everyone is always in a hurry, always pressed for time despite the time savers of fast food, fast cars, and a fast Internet. With cell phones, microwaves, and bagged, ready-to-eat lettuce, we have more time than ever and yet seem more frazzled than ever. Voices from our media-saturated lives constantly offer us new things to do and have, new ways to achieve, new areas to improve so we can get more done. There isn’t much talk about doing nothing. Whatever happened to “come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest?” As believers we are children fully accepted by our Father already. Why do we need to do all these things? What are we trying to prove?
I count it no accident that the Father called Jesus his beloved son in whom he was well pleased before he had done one thing in his ministry. The Bible’s silence on those years between ages twelve and thirty is also not an accident. He wasn’t doing great things for God during those times. And God made it a point to declare him already beloved and well-pleasing anyway. As believers, we are in union with him and thus we too are beloved and well-pleasing before we do anything.
So why are we so obsessed with achieving things? Why must we live harried, driven lives when all we are called to do is take his yoke and learn of him? As children of God, we have nothing to prove and nothing in this world to gain. Seek him first and all things will be added to your life, Matthew tells us. David wrote of grace and mercy pursuing him, not the other way around.
Jesus was not in a hurry. I don’t have to be either. I don’t have to worry about
meeting my deadline, because he will see to that. I don’t have to worry about building a big ministry, because he will see it is whatever size he has chosen it to be. I don’t have anything to prove because children of God don’t have to prove anything. I only have to follow him and learn of him, and in so doing, I will find the rest that is the Christian way of life.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28 – 30
Enjoy the Bergmens’ Holiday Traditions
Lutefisk Swedish Christmas Codfish
3 pounds codfish
salt
mustard sauce:
1½ cups beef stock
1 tablespoon dry brown mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
Wash and skin fish, cut into several large pieces. Place the pieces close together on a square of cheesecloth and sprinkle with salt; wrap loosely and place on a rack in a large kettle. Add water to cover and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes or until tender. Drain and arrange on a warm platter. Serve with melted butter or mustard sauce. Surround with little boiled potatoes and green peas.
Mustard sauce: Use wire whisk to combine all ingredients thoroughly. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. As soon as the mixture is slightly thickened, strain and serve.
Potato Lefse
Lefse is a great Scandinavian treat, often described as the Queen Mother of Norwegian pastries. Ways to eat it are as varied as the recipes to be found. Some roll it with butter and sugar, some with baked pork, and some even eat it with hot dogs. True connoisseurs insist that lefse should be only made with fresh cooked potatoes, others say that lefse made with instant potatoes is just as good.
4 cups cooked potatoes (riced)
½ cup butter (no substitutes)
1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
Boil potatoes in salted water. Rice the potatoes, blend in butter. Chill. Work in 1½ cups flour very well. Form this dough into small balls (1/3 cup), as if forming a bun, working in a small amount of flour. Roll thin on well-floured board. Fry on ungreased lefse iron at 475 degrees to 500 degrees until light brown spots appear, turn and fry other side a few moments.
Lefse hints:
Apply flour to rolling pin and pastry cloth. Roll dough until very thin. (If you have trouble picking the lefse up, roll it onto the turning stick, then roll it back off when you place it on the grill.)
Stack finished lefses between two cloth towels to cool. It is important to cool the lefses between towels to keep them from drying out. When complete, restack the lefses once or twice to remove some of the moisture to keep them from getting soggy.
Never use products containing grease on an aluminum-finish lefse grill if you want to use it for lefse again. The grease will destroy the seasoning that has built up on the grill and make it impossible to prevent the lefse from sticking. If you for some reason have a sticky spot on your grill, take a small piece of steel wool and go in a circular motion around the surface of the grill (following the original sanding marks). Once you feel you have the sticky spot removed, rub flour onto the surface of the grill, just like when it was new.