As an adult in my 40s, I oversaw the installation of central heating and air conditioning in the house I grew up in--the house where with my parents' help I gave guidance to Santa to use the door because of the fire and the wood-burning stove insert blocking a descent down the chimney.
We only reached the decision to put in central heat and air because my Dad, in his mid-80s, could no longer cut the wood to fuel the wood-burning stove by himself. As long as he could cut firewood, he did. Then the time came to approach the heating needs of the homeplace differently. Putting in central heat via a gas furnace led to the removal of the wood-burning stove insert in the fireplace and the installation of gas logs. A "fire" in the fireplace via a remote control was an entirely new reality for us.
These changes took a little getting used to, to be sure. However, the knowledge that our parents would be warm in heating season--and cool in cooling season--was a great relief to all four of us as their adult children. And, when ice storms and other storms in cold weather knocked out electric power in some years after our Dad's passing, our Mom stayed cozy and safe with the warmth of the gas-powered fireplace.
That fireplace is still my favorite one. Its mantle is the one upon which my stocking hung throughout the years of my childhood and well into my adulthood. In Key West, the rectory doesn't even have heating. Of course, few are the days each year when it would be on if we had it. And, there's no indoor fireplace. Still, a Christmas fire still warms the soul, even if not needed to warm the body. Here at the end of the road, we enjoy an outdoor fire in the fire pit or an electronic "fire" on our TV or both.
Becky and I wish for all of you and all of yours a cozy, merry Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Christmastide. May the best memories of the past warm you through and through. May you be able to release any memories and practices that no longer serve. May God's love revealed afresh in the birth of our Savior renew your love for this world that God so loves. And may hope in God's unfolding future light our path forward together like the star that shone over Bethlehem. We send our love and hold you in our prayers.
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