I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day! It is such a special time of year...just love the lights, the wonder and excitement written across the faces of children - both young and old - and heck, we even got something that resembled winter weather in Arizona this week!
As I was driving to work earlier this week I was listening to a country music radio station. I had just turned the channel and they had a caller on the phone. Apparently the radio hosts had shared the story of a little girl who was in need - you know how newspapers, radio & TV stations like to run these type of stories this time of year. I didn't get to hear her story so I don't know the details. The caller was very emotional, he spoke of how this young girl was bringing glory to God and that he just knew in his Spirit he had to help her. As the announcers were thanking him for helping this little girl the man, through tears, said "we should help people at this time of year. In fact, this is what we are supposed to do all year long." All year long...something in those words really spoke to my heart. Feeling MY Spirit speaking to me, I prayed that God would give me His knowledge, His wisdom in those words. That I wouldn't go, "oh, that is nice" and start singing the next song (yes, the singing is ugly!). No, I wanted to camp there for a while, learn the lessons from this powerful statement and allow the knowledge and wisdom to be used to transform me.
I would like to share with you some things I have learned this week, some observations I have made in this little journey. Now, before I start I am going to tell you that I am going to use some generalizations - this is dangerous because anytime we generalize anything we are going to be wrong in some cases. I am simply going to ask on the front end for your grace and that you listen to the intent of the heart...I think you will get it.
- It has struck me this week how as Christmas approaches people are generally kinder to one another. Watch when you go to the mall, the store...people smile a little more, say "hi" with more frequency and of course you often here a cheery "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holiday's." It really is interesting. People who stare at the ground, won't hold the door for others, won't smile, etc. in June & July suddenly make eye contact, are a little more courteous of others (I am not talking about Black Friday!!!), smile, etc. What if we did this all year long?
- Family - all of the sudden, when Christmas approaches, family becomes the priority. We want to be with our families, travel great distances, go through extraordinary efforts to be with family, etc. We don't suddenly have more time...we make time. We are often busier than ever with the office parties, shopping, decorations, etc. and yet, we make time for family. What if our families were the priority all year long? What if we made time in our schedules as we do at Christmas instead of giving whatever time is left...which we can choose to never have any time left as there is always something that can be done, right?
- How about helping, taking care of or heck, even noticing those who are less fortunate than us? What, do we think all of the sudden people's lives are broken, they become homeless, they get abused, they lose their jobs, etc. at Christmas? I am fairly certain that lives are broken, homeless, abused, unemployed, etc. in the other 11 months as well. Maybe it's to clear our conscious as we gather in our warm, safe homes to open our gifts that suddenly we get real excited about helping in December...I don't know. What if we helped, took care of and noticed others all year long? What difference would this make in the world? Would there be such a great need in December? I tend to doubt it...
- This one real got to me; people talk about not having faith, lacking faith, etc. Interestingly nearly everyone under the age of say 4 or 5 years old has complete faith - in thought, word and action - that there is a Santa Claus. Please let that sink in for a moment. Yes, there is complete faith - dictionary.com says faith is confidence or trust. We are people of faith - we do believe in, place or confidence and trust in something. Some put their faith in God, some in the world...there really isn't a middle ground. Is it interesting that Santa Claus represents someone who is kind, loving, wants what is best for us, wants to bless our lives and encourages us to be good (don't get all religious, or should I say legalistic on me...hear my heart, you get the point)? I know Someone just like Santa Claus! I am not here to tell you what to think or believe; I simply want you to know that you do have faith and to thoughtfully consider where you are going to place it...there are eternal ramifications!
- You know, some bemoan Christmas for all the gifts, they complain that it is not really a religious holiday...it is a time for stores to make money. I think there is a great lesson in Christmas and any gift we might receive...and how we perceive what a gift really is. You know the bible talks about being thankful for what you do have, what you do receive. We get conflicted because what we want is not always what we receive and yet ironically, what we do receive is usually what is best for us. I will let that speak to you however it will. Here is what got to me; let's go back to the very first Christmas celebration. See, the kids didn't know that it was coming because it was the first one right? So I have to think that whatever they received they were thankful for...I mean they couldn't have asked for something specifically because they didn't even know that they were going to get gifts the next day. What if we were truly thankful, truly grateful for whatever we received all year long?
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I truly would be willing to help you any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and cherish your family & friends.
Kev
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