Christmastide: The Fire and the Treasure
Are you reflecting on Christmas past, present, or future? This year, all three-time tenses are showing up for me.
I remember going with Dad to buy a tree for “Christmastide,” which lasted from Christmas Eve until the Feast of the Magi on January 6th. My childhood memories aren’t so much about what was under the tree but about Dad reading scripture at Mass, his singing O Holy Night, and the whole family singing carols and enjoying Beef Brisket from a Burgundy Bath—YUM!
One gift from Christmastide 1970 still remains: an Anthology of Children’s Literature, given to me the year a fire destroyed our home. So much was lost that year, but our health and love for each other remained.
That year, I didn’t realize it was both the hardest and most transformative Christmas of my eight-year-old life. Today, 54 years later, I still read something from that Anthology every Christmastide. This year, I opened it to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Fir Tree.
If you’ve read it, you know its message: to love who you are, where you are, and to embrace each moment and what it uncovers. One line lingers with me:
“I heard it on the happiest evening of my life, but I did not know
I was so happy at the time.”
Are you aware of the happiest evenings of your life and how they’ve shaped you? Or do they slip by unnoticed?
Reflections from other years bring different losses into focus—missing people, lost love, and bittersweet memories. As I reflect, I’m reminded of treasures—both beautiful and difficult—that shape our lives. Dad’s inscription in the book still moves and challenges me:
“Every day and year, you will find new, wonderful treasures inside. Let this book always remind you of a merry and holy Christmas when you were almost nine years old.”
Discovering Treasure in Every Season
Are you longing to uncover the treasures in your relationship with God, your neighbor, and yourself? If so, I invite you to join us for the 4-Day Enneagram Harmony Retreat and Certification, January 7-10.
The Enneagram Harmony Model reveals our personality patterns, offering accurate insights into how we automatically think, feel, and behave. It provides practical practices to help us live more integrated and harmonious lives.
These four days will be a time to:
- Celebrate your inherent greatness, made in God’s image.
- Reflect on the life you’ve been given and the life you’re invited to embrace.
- Gain tools for personal renewal or certification to guide others toward flourishing.
For some, this retreat is a time of personal transformation. For others, it’s training to help others awaken to God’s presence and uncover their treasures—both beautiful and difficult.
Uncovering Treasure Together
If you’re ready to embrace the moment you’re in, deepen your connection to God and others, and discover “new and wonderful treasures” within yourself, join Scott and me in January.
Let’s hone the skills to help ourselves—and others—live more fully in every season.
Uncovering Treasure Momently,
Scott and Clare
