In Its Time

By Amy Storms

As little girls, my daughters danced ballet for several years. To a ballerina, Christmas means one thing: The Nutcracker.

I didn’t know much about ballet at the time—still don’t—but I loved watching Anne and Molly perform. Each year as they grew, the young dancers in their classical academy graduated to more challenging roles in the show. The littlest girls danced as mice, bonbons, and angels, but they all aspired to someday be in the company, performing as Clara or even the Sugar Plum Fairy.

At the time, I probably complained about how busy we were with rehearsals and how many times I drove to and from the theater. But looking back, those days were special. My girls had so much fun with their ballet friends. They worked hard and learned incredible discipline. They were beautiful, and they were part of something beautiful.

Anne and Molly are grown now—both are married women, and Anne is expecting a daughter of her own in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, while I was listening to Christmas music, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker came on, and I immediately teared up. I miss my tiny dancers.

It reminds me of Ecclesiastes: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance … He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, 11, New International Version).

In its time. Isn’t that the message of Christmas? “When the set time had fully come,” the apostle Paul wrote, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Galatians 4:4-5) “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) In the fullness of time…God sent his son, and he has made everything beautiful.

Seasons change. Dancing mice grow into Sugar Plum Fairies. Young girls become adult women of God. Sometimes it’s sad when Christmas traditions become Christmas memories. But the good news—the beautiful gospel!—is that God sent his Son to redeem us all. And he, the Word in the flesh, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth, has made everything beautiful in its time.

Amy Storms serves as Vice President of Marketing and Communications and an English professor at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri.