Christmas

Christmas. An extraordinary and special time of year that can often be swept away by stress and pressure, expectations and responsibilities, presents and worldly things… A time of year that the traditions and pressures of the holiday can become so important to uphold that we forget to actually live the moment and enjoy it… A time when everyone is striving to have the perfect gifts under the tree for children who don’t “need” a thing, the perfect decorations inside and out, and to attend every holiday party they are invited to just to keep up. 

Sadly, I am one of those people. I worry so much about what I want it to be that I forget to truly enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas.  When I’m guilty, I say I’m guilty. 

Christmas to me is about LOVE, yet I am foolishly guilty of making it about THINGS.  Christmas is about ALL children, not just my own.  Christmas is about family…not just my family, but ALL families.  It is not just about our little town, our county, our state or nation… It is about the WORLD.  Christmas is about the lonely old lady on your street who has no family and might spend the day alone.  Christmas is about giving from the heart, not from our wallet.  Christmas is about the thankfulness for the year that has passed and how blessed we were in it…and looking forward to the new year to come and all of the exciting opportunities that may lie in store for us. Christmas is about others.  It is not about us. It is about helping to make someone else's day a little brighter than before.

At a time of the year where most celebrate the spirit of the season, there are families out there who may be apart, who have sick children, sick parents, who have no money to provide gifts for their kids, who are suffering through the loss of loved ones or going through a painful divorce. There are so many situations, yet so often we make it all about ourselves.  My children were fortunate enough to participate in Service Day recently at Connection Church and we took gifts and meals to a family right here in our own town.  Right here, underneath our noses, people live in horrific situations that we turn a blind eye to.  To go into that home and bring smiles to those children’s faces brought me more joy this year than it ever has before.  There were no presents under their tree, no fancy lights to impress the neighbors, no Target or Belk bags thrown everywhere because they had gone on a mindless shopping spree to buy gifts for people who don’t “need” anything at all.  There was just a little bare tree and some Christmas colored balloons taped to the ceiling.  I’ve participated in plenty of things like this over the years, but never have I been affected like I was this year.  I don’t know if that’s because I’m getting older or because my life is so full… I think it’s a combination of both.

Stan is notorious for leaving me love notes (nobody gag or laugh now at our sappiness) – and he left me one in my car this morning that said “YOU are my Christmas”.  How blessed to know that I can be that for him… and that he is that for me too.  He and I got engaged in early December and that has set the tone of the season for me… Christmas is LOVE.  Not just romantic love, but love for the world, for mankind, for those less fortunate, for those hurting, for those who are sick, for those who are lost and confused and trying to find their happiness in this world.  He has given me a whole new reason to love Christmas… and every holiday really.  We are truly blessed and so are our children.  We both have been through a lot of “life” and know what is important.  We place so much more energy on the things that cannot be bought, but can only be felt… and those are the things that matter most.  I hope each and every one of you have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy year in 2016.  May you be as blessed as I am in what you have the ability to FEEL this Christmas season.