Family Advent Breakfast
This past Christmas Season was a bit more magical with Zeke now old enough to realize that Santa would soon be visiting our home laden with presents. While “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” rang through the air daily during November and December, Matt and I knew that our priority was to refocus that excitement to that of Jesus Our Savior’s Birthday. This is quite a tall task considering every day in a four year old’s life is pretty much all about them (or at least our four year old!). Thankfully, Emily Holladay and the Children’s Ministry put together a Family Advent Breakfast to begin the Holy Season.
After we fellowshipped and ate breakfast provided by Gracious Plenty, we were directed to three different stations. The first was to create an advent box. Once finished, it contained an advent calendar with various symbols for each week to help celebrate. The second station was to make an angel to give to the Homebound members. The third was creating jars of hot cocoa and marshmallows to place in the food baskets that were delivered after the Christmas Musical. This was Zeke and Hank’s favorite station as they filled about 10 jars, of course all while eating a chocolate chip or two. Cathy Smith and Glenna Hess helped at this station and I loved seeing the interaction of the children with these two adults.
I was filled with gratitude for all the people that help make Broadway’s Children’s Program function. Having multiple hands to guide my three boys during these early stages matters. The children understood that both the angels and the hot chocolate were given to others that needed it more than them. This giving to others is what fulfills the Christmas Spirit and can only be understood with practice.
Weeks before Christmas, Zeke found the glow sticks that were part of the Advent box. They had been included in the box to remind us to shine the light of Christ wherever we went. Matt and I walked into a dark playroom to find the three boys adorned with the glow sticks made into bracelets. The kids were floating around singing “little gray donkey, clip-clop, clip-clop, on the way to Bethlehem.” At least for a moment, the excitement of Christ’s coming was realized and embraced.
~Jessica Washer