I don't know about you, but I LOVE Christmas! I love decorating for it. I love baking for it. I love all of the events surrounding it. I love giving gifts (and yes, receiving them too). And I love the reason for the season (Jesus).
It's such an emotional time - highs of fun times and memories, and lows of missing those who are no longer here to share with us. Sometimes it's hard to get past the "should have's" and "could have's" to see the wonderful "do have's" that we should celebrate. For instance, I often miss my mother at this time of year. When I was younger, her house was always the family gathering place. All of the extended family would come to our celebrations. Without her, those gatherings are far more rare. She never got to meet any of her grandchildren... truly one of my biggest heartaches. I know she watches from heaven and smiles at them though, and I see her light shining through my daughter's eyes and the eyes of my niece and nephew. So that's the celebration and joy that I cherish now.. my own family and the beauty of how life goes on.
It's so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas - "Did we get enough gifts?" "Is our house decorated enough?" "Have we seen all the holiday shows we wanted to?" "Did we cook enough goodies to share and for ourselves?" - I know our time from Thanksgiving through Christmas (and even through New Year's) will be filled with those thoughts and activities at our house. And I love all of it... but I try very hard to remember the more important part (and it's hard to do!). It is Jesus' birth we celebrate because it brought light into the world. He provides hope and salvation - especially during the darkest times. The love that we have for our families - especially our children, is nothing compared to the love that God shares with us. His love is what I try to share with my friends and family, it's what I want my daughter to take with her as she grows into a lovely young lady. And it's something I share for all of you!
From my family to yours - We hope you have a blessed and loving holiday season!
It's such an emotional time - highs of fun times and memories, and lows of missing those who are no longer here to share with us. Sometimes it's hard to get past the "should have's" and "could have's" to see the wonderful "do have's" that we should celebrate. For instance, I often miss my mother at this time of year. When I was younger, her house was always the family gathering place. All of the extended family would come to our celebrations. Without her, those gatherings are far more rare. She never got to meet any of her grandchildren... truly one of my biggest heartaches. I know she watches from heaven and smiles at them though, and I see her light shining through my daughter's eyes and the eyes of my niece and nephew. So that's the celebration and joy that I cherish now.. my own family and the beauty of how life goes on.
It's so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas - "Did we get enough gifts?" "Is our house decorated enough?" "Have we seen all the holiday shows we wanted to?" "Did we cook enough goodies to share and for ourselves?" - I know our time from Thanksgiving through Christmas (and even through New Year's) will be filled with those thoughts and activities at our house. And I love all of it... but I try very hard to remember the more important part (and it's hard to do!). It is Jesus' birth we celebrate because it brought light into the world. He provides hope and salvation - especially during the darkest times. The love that we have for our families - especially our children, is nothing compared to the love that God shares with us. His love is what I try to share with my friends and family, it's what I want my daughter to take with her as she grows into a lovely young lady. And it's something I share for all of you!
From my family to yours - We hope you have a blessed and loving holiday season!
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This post first appeared on Robert Kaiser's Blog | Understanding Body Armour, please read the originial post: here
