Have you ever reflected on Christmas’s past, or resolved that Christmas had gone dead, that it consisted only of people running from store to store, rudely making their way up and down the aisles, extremely perturbed because they could not figure out how to spend their last dollar – to only spend money that they did not have for everyday needs to begin with?  I have, and if you feel these things today, I beg you to think again.

True Christmas grows, and it exists as long as we commit to these things:

Friends – Aren’t they priceless? Friends run an entire scope in our lives, from online friends that we’ve never met in person (but hope to give rich hugs to someday), to friends that see us through year after year, those that hold us up, “have our backs” without a hitch. The love that we pour out during the Christmas season, we can share through the year, all of these things…commit.

Family – Aren’t they even more priceless? I once thought, after several painful situations that happened during the Christmas season, that I could skip out on family and friends, and meet up with them after the hoopla of Christmas died back down. I went to God, He led me back to the most beautiful time of the year. The time when we ALL make a huge effort to love. Love, God, all of the things that I list today, all things that heal and bring us together.

Fortitude – Facing what we perceive as difficulty. Facing it without looking back, to open our hearts completely. To shut the door to fear and difficulty.

Fervor – The feeling of great warmth and earnestness: to speak and live with fervor! Yes!

Fruition – The attainment of anything we desire, a realization or an accomplishment. The small things – Christmas, family, friends, and the realization of comfort – being with those that we love. The attainment of what gets passed on from person to person, things that do not cost a penny, only the expense of a moment of our lives.

Forgiveness – None of the above happens without forgiveness, the letting go of what we, as weak humans, want to retain – our desire to not forget the wrongs that others have done to us, the allowance of a normal healthy relationship despite what we fear. Loving those that do not agree with our beliefs.

Faith – Trust and belief in things that we cannot see. For me, this faith is in God, our Heavenly Father. Because of Him, because He sent Jesus Christ as a baby – a human, we have life, and Christmas – the celebration of His birth.

Today, I am supposed to be working on my Annie’s Goat Care Handbook, which I began writing nearly seven months ago. Instead, I am sidetracked. It is a good deviation. The warmth of Christmas runs through my veins, straight into my heart and soul. I hope the same for you – for the rest of the New Year. No, for the rest of your (our) lives.

Do not forget those that are lonely and have yet to pull the sense of comfort into their lives. We have work to do.

Share, Encourage, and Grow

Blessings,

Mary

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17 NIV)