The Christmas Letter Tradition

The Christmas Letter is a tradition in a lot of homes around this time. However, in the Gardner household, it takes on a different meaning. We do not send out a standard Christmas Letter to our family and friends, instead, our Christmas Letter is a love letter written to one another.

We actually started the tradition because we did not have enough money to buy each other a gift on Christmas. We decided to write a letter in lieu of a gift and placed it on the tree with a pretty bow. Then on Christmas morning we sat cuddled together with a cup of coffee and opened our letters. The first year of the Christmas Letter created an annual outpouring of love. Even after we could afford gifts, we have honored and cherished this precious gift more than any material item that could be purchased. Therefore, we still do not buy gifts, as our letters are more precious than rubies.

Our letters go on our tree every year, and we open the current year on Christmas morning together. The letters share about our year and express how our love has grown, transformed, and been shaped based on our experiences and journey in Christ together and apart. Now, we have a letter for every year God has blessed us in marriage, a full tree, and a sweet record of our life together from both our perspectives.

On Christmas morning we are both excited to read that year's Christmas Letter, and then we reread the letters from the previous years. We reminisce, laugh, and cry as we walk back through the years of love and life. The 2020 Christmas Letter will be full of interesting events, as we have had significant life transitions and challenges, but I am excited that through all the uncertainty of this year there is a love letter that will be waiting like always.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and may your Christmas traditions and celebrations be full of love. We pray you are blessed with the gifts that come from the greatest love letter of all time, The Holy Bible. May you know that you are loved no matter who you are or where you are, and His words were written with love.

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