Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Just by looking at this picture taken in Washington State, what reasonable conclusions could you arrive at? Let’s start with when: probably not on the 4th of July. Easter can be eliminated for the same reasons.
Can you tell where the shot was taken? The clues to answer this are more subtle. There are no rugged peaks in the background and alpine evergreen aren’t really apparent. Still, there’s that front porch to consider. What do you know about the person who lives here?
I’m guessing we’d agree that they have a strong interest in the out-of-doors after looking at the peak of the roof and the front porch. And one more question: What is the occupation of the occupant? Unless they have a very, very large family who go through equipment rapidly, it’s quite likely they are involved in some way with the ski industry.
What is missing is the story behind those 32 pair of skis, plus those two that don’t have their mate. Why did they end up spending Christmas lined up at the front porch? While I don’t think we should spend sleepless nights pondering the answer to that question, there are some questions about Christmas that may deserve our attention.
Why didn’t Joseph plan ahead and make reservations? Did the innkeeper ever become aware that something of significance must have been happening when numerous visitors showed up at his establishment? Of course we can’t answer these questions, but what we can, and must answer, is whether He is evident in our lives. If He is, He should be even more apparent than Fischers, K2s, and Rossignols.