Every Family Has Stories Worth Remembering

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

August begins in two days. School will soon be starting, and before we know it, the first hints of autumn will be in the air. That means the holiday season can’t be far behind.

I love the holidays. Do you?

As a child, I remember celebrating the end of the growing season with a Halloween Carnival at our school. We lived in a rural farming community, so trick-or-treating wasn’t part of our tradition. Instead, families gathered in the school gym for an evening of games, laughter, and fellowship.

Each year, students collected spare change, and the boy and girl who collected the most were crowned Halloween King and Queen. I still remember the excitement of being crowned Halloween King when I was in the second grade.

The carnival was filled with simple pleasures—a cake walk, bobbing for apples, a kissing booth, and my favorite, the fishing booth. We would toss our fishing line over a wall, and someone hidden on the other side would attach a piece of candy or a small prize to our hook before we reeled it back in. Looking back, it seems so simple, but to a little boy it was pure magic.

Thanksgiving was another special time. Daddy was a hunter, so our holiday meal often included squirrel or rabbit. If we were especially fortunate, he would bring home a wild turkey. We didn’t have much money, but we always had enough, and we were thankful for God’s provision.

Christmas was the highlight of the year.

Every December, our church presented a Christmas pageant. One year I had the privilege of playing Joseph. I remember sitting beside “Mary” on a one-quart paint can that served as my stool. It wasn’t the most comfortable seat in the world, and I was relieved when the pageant was over.

Daddy always brought home a box filled with oranges, apples, and mixed nuts for the family. We cut a live pine tree from the farm and decorated it together. On Christmas Eve, we gathered around the fireplace while Daddy read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. Then we opened our presents together as a family.

Years later, when Erma and I had children of our own, she made Thanksgiving and Christmas just as special for them. She loved live Christmas trees as much as I did. One year we found the perfect tree on her grandparents’ farm. The only problem was that it was much larger than we realized. We had to trim it several times before we could squeeze it into the house. We laughed about that tree for years.

The holidays were difficult for me after my divorce and remained that way for many years. Some of you know exactly what I mean. The holidays have a way of reminding us of those who are no longer with us, relationships that have changed, and seasons of life we can never relive.

But this year feels different.

Instead of dwelling on what was lost, I find myself remembering the many wonderful holidays our family shared together. Those memories have become gifts of their own. They remind me that love leaves a lasting imprint on our hearts and that gratitude can grow even from seasons of sorrow.

The old song says Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year.” It certainly can be. But I’ve learned that what truly makes the holidays wonderful isn’t the decorations, the gifts, or even the food.

Love is what makes them special.

Today our children are grown, and our grandchildren are becoming young adults. They are creating traditions of their own, just as they should. Every generation adds another chapter to the family story.

There is another word I didn’t fully appreciate until later in life—Advent. In the Christian tradition, Advent is the season of preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It also reminds us of four gifts that God longs to give each of us:

Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

As summer gives way to autumn and our thoughts begin turning toward family gatherings and holiday traditions, my prayer is that each of us will experience those four gifts in fresh ways.

May your home be filled with hope, your heart with peace, your life with joy, and your relationships with unconditional love.

Because every family has stories worth remembering…and sometimes the simplest traditions become the ones we treasure most.