Today I want to talk about the Christmas Season! This is my favorite holiday by far. I love the hustle and bustle at the malls, the sound of the Salvation Army ringing its bells every year, and seeing the decorations at Crocker Park – these are near the top of my favorites list! I love going for rides at night with my best friend, my husband, and our precious pup, Daisy, to see all of the light displays, and the businesses decorated and doing their best to draw us in to “come see what we have inside!” I love listening to Christmas carols on the radio, shopping, cooking and watching the Weather Channel to see if we will have a “White Christmas!” And I love all of the heartwarming Christmas movies – watching them with a box of Kleenex next to me! And I really don’t even mind as people complain, “this has become such a commercial nightmare” and that we forget about the real “Reason for the Season,” and I don’t believe that Jesus minds either. And the reason I believe this is because at this time of the year more than at any other time, we take ourselves outside of ourselves, and devote ourselves to thinking of and doing for others. And to me, in whatever form that takes, the message becomes the action that continues to be – LOVE.
For what is love if not taking our eyes off of ourselves and thinking of ways to make another person happy or to meet their need, or to just spend time with them? It is at this time of the year that families get together, healing takes place, and fellowship abounds. It is at this time of the year that, whether we understand it or believe it or not, we become what the season is all about – “Love one another as I have loved you.” When we give our change or a few dollars to the Salvation Army, it feels good because we know we are doing some small thing to make another person’s life better. Other displays of love are shown in caroling at nursing homes and hospitals to bring some joy to those who are hurting; making a food basket for those in need so that a family can celebrate the season; and hearing heartwarming stories of love that abound at this time of the year. And as we think about how to help another or others, it reminds us of how very many things we have to be grateful for in our own lives. We appreciate the friends and family we are blessed to have in our lives just a little bit more. And we are thankful for the simple things in our life, like a good meal and a warm home and a few extra days from work to spend with our friends and families.
So I say, Rejoice, and again I say Rejoice! Go ahead and decorate the Christmas trees! Bake the cookies! Turn up the music and dance, for this is truly the most wonderful time of the year. And know that somewhere in the hustle and bustle of this very busy time of the year, the real “Reason for the Season” is still at the heart of it all, for the message from the One Who came as a tiny babe, fresh from heaven, and gave His life to save a lost and dying world still resonates and is celebrated throughout the world – that we love one another- and is that not the real “reason for the season?”
Merry Christmas Everyone!
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