An Arkie’s Faith I’ll be Home for Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas songs is the Bing Crosby classic, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” The song was written to honor soldiers overseas who longed to be home at Christmas time. The song is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. In the message, he tells his family he will be coming home and to prepare the holiday for him. The song touched the hearts of Americans, soldiers, and civilians, earning Bing Crosby his fifth gold record.

“I’ll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree. Christmas Eve will find me where the love light gleams. I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” broken.”

That day, Orville and Wilbur became the first to demonstrate a heavier-thanair machine’s sustained flight under the pilot’s complete control. What did the brothers do after their exciting success and the heartbreak of damaging their flying machine? They had an unhurried lunch and then walked 4 miles to send a telegram to their father. The telegraph read, “Success four flights Thursday morning all against twentyone-mile wind started from level with engine power alone. Average speed through air thirty-one miles. Longest 57 seconds. Inform press. Home for Christmas.”

With their machine wrecked by the wind and flying done for the season, the Wrights immediately thought of going home for Christmas. They returned home with their broken machine on the evening of Dec. 23.

According to their niece, Ivonette Miller, who was 7 in 1903, the children were excited that Wilbur and Orville would be home for Christmas. She recalled they said, “Oh, goody, Uncle Will will be home in time to carve the Christmas turkey!”

Amanda Wright Lane, the great-grandniece of Wilbur and Orville, said, “The Wright family was thrilled to learn about that first flight, but they were happier yet to know that meant the boys, great cooks, would be home in time for Wilbur to stuff the Christmas turkey and for Orville to make his cranberry bunny, served at holiday meals.”

Orville and Wilbur Wright had just accomplished something no human had ever done. What they accomplished on that cold, windy December day would change humankind forever. But their thoughts were with their family and making it home for Christmas.

The family is important to God because it is an institution He has created and one of His blessings. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Every family is unique, and every person within each family is essential. When God created the family, he gave us an extraordinary gift and a unique challenge. Family requires an unshakable commitment to each other, even when everyone involved is intimately aware of each other’s flaws.

If you are committed to your family, they should always come first. Even if you are working on something significant, like the first powered, heavierthan-air flight, you should never forget your commitment to your family.

Joke of the Week:

I wasn’t using the colander correctly, so my wife took out a restraining order.

As a Christian, you’re a part of two families: your earthly and heavenly families. 1 John 3:1 (GW) says, “Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God’s dear children. And that’s what we are.”

And Romans 8:15-17 (ICB) says, “The Spirit that we have makes us children of God. And with that Spirit we say, ‘Father, dear Father.’ And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say that we are God’s children. If we are God’s children, then we will receive the blessings God has for us. We will receive these things from God together with Christ.”

Gentle Reader, there’s no doubt God loves His children. He shows it by His words, His actions, and His promises. He longs for His children to be with him. Like we want our children and grandchildren to come home for Christmas, God wants us to come home and be with Him. Jesus says, “I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home, where we will be together.” John 14:3 (VOICE)

There’s nothing in this life that’s more important than for us to be a child of God and come home for Christmas. Let’s tell God, “I’ll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me.”