If it was....

If you knew this was going to be your last Christmas, what would be most important aspects that you would insist were present? What about if you knew someone you loved wouldn't celebrate another? What then?

I suppose it is a melancholy question for such a wonderful time of year, however, we are a nation involved in conflicts around the world, and not everyone has the luxury of oblivious abandon assuming that this is going to be like every other Christmas, and that there will be many more.

Statistics would likely tell us that at least one of the people who reads this post will experience some sort of loss between now and Christmas 2008. I wonder, as we go into this day, would you be happy with the memories you made?

This hits particularly close to home this year as a few people I know are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan next August, the reality is that they will not be home next Christmas, and as hard as we pray, and as much as we hope, it is also possible that this could be their last Christmas. I wonder if they are doing anything differently this year? A friend of mine told me that his whole family was going to be away this Christmas, it wasn't until later that I wondered if there was more to this trip than just a 'change of pace'.

I ask this not to put a damper on your Christmas celebrations, rather it is my hope that this sobering thought will make you stop for a moment and appreciate all that you have right now.

I challenge you, make a memory this Christmas, one that would be enough to get you through forever.... I would wager a guess that what makes those types of memories is not as much about what sits UNDER the tree, as WHO sits around it.

If you or someone you know is deployed... know my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!