I am one of those obnoxious people who is just waiting for Christmas- counting down the days.
My shopping is almost all done, and my cards are stamped and waiting for a reasonable date to send them out. It is not that I am overly organized, I am just excited about Christmas. I love the music, the family, the gifts (giving more than getting!) and mostly I enjoy the anticipation.
Christmas is not always happy for those around us. So many people have no place to be; by choice or by circumstance. For a time in my life every Christmas was stressful and bittersweet. Mainly it marked the passing of another year as a single person. The only gift my heart desired couldn't be wrapped in paper or tied with ribbon. I allowed what I didn't have to rob me of the experiece I did have, sitting right there in front of me.
It wasn't until I took my eyes off my own situation and looked around that I realized there were those whose lives I could touch quite easily in the Christmas season. Like we recently learned it is the "Upside Down" way of God. If you give you will recieve.
This year I am taking it to a higher level. I have decided to host my family, in their many and varied configurations-seriously I think Middle East peace talks have fewer logistical issues- and just simply give back in all the ways that I have been blessed in the past.
By opening up my home to my family, I get an opportunity to give, and I am finding that this is the first year that my Christmas list of gifts to buy far exceeds my own requests!
This year Christmas is a time for reflection about how full and amazing this year was, and how different my life is compared to this time last year. Who would have believed it???
As you set out on your Christmas shopping this year, wrapping gifts, and cleaning for the endless parade of people who will enjoy and appreciate, just think of how blessed you are to have the ability to do all of those things!
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