Do you remember a few weeks ago when you heard the first Christmas song of the season? How did it make you feel… like you just found a long lost friend?
Do you remember when you held your first child….and then grandchild?
We all are blessed with many of those “moments” in our lives. The first kiss, the first love, the first child.
These moments actually take your breath away because they are so incredibly moving and meaningful.
How do you feel when you place money in that red can and then a bell rings and someone makes you feel important in that instance?
How do you feel when you give someone a gift and you watch their face as they see what you have given them?
How do you feel when a child’s or another adult’s face lights up the room because you walked into it?
As you ponder on the feelings these questions have evoked, let’s dwell on one other question:
How do you feel when you look in the nativity scene manger and see a small, helpless baby? Since you know the rest of His story, you most likely feel awed by the miracle that little baby represents.
This time of year allows us to sit back and reflect on how God created a miracle that has kept on giving for well over 2,000 years. Every time we think about that baby, we immediately think of the cross and the significance it has on our lives. The gift that keeps on giving. . .
Imagine how God must feel as He watches us, His children celebrate the greatest gift ever given—His one and only son! The price of that gift has never been matched and no one will ever be able to repay. Yet, we are still praising, worshiping and paying forward in our own way, the most incredible gift this world has ever known.
We love Christmas time. People seem to be bitten by the kindness bug—you know, the one that helps them think of that special gift, or when the opportunity arises and there is a special need, people react and try to help fill it.
The good cheer, the high spirits, the pure joy that the music, the lights and the gifts bring are what we wish we could have for much longer than just a couple of weeks a year.
While you are spending quality time this week with your family and friends, think of ways that you can extend those moments throughout the year. Be creative in ways to create those special moments with them. Learn to write letters again, send pictures of your family, and even send them baskets of fruit so they will know they are in your thoughts. As challenging as it is to be creative at times, it is worth the effort because the fragility of life depends on our never taking even one moment for granted—it will never return.
Here are some additional thoughts on how to keep this incredible feeling, well past the Christmas season:
- Give a sincere compliment
- Help someone in need
- Give an extra-large tip at the restaurant
- Let someone into your lane while driving
- Give something to a stranger
- Express your gratitude for what is too often taken for granted
- Share some of your tasty homemade cookies, bread, salad or juice
- Hold the door open for a stranger
- Volunteer at the local homeless shelter, soup kitchen or non-profit
- Give away a piece of your hobby. Like a bracelet or a drawing you have made for instance
- Share some of your homemade jam, canned vegetables, fruit or dried mushrooms
- Share something funny you found online
- Send a heart-felt “Thinking of you” text
- Give a hug
- Cook their favorite food if they have had a bad day
- Smile
- Run an errand or do one chore for another person
- Bring a cup of tea or coffee (barley) the way someone likes it
- Hide a secret note for him or her to find
- Stop what you are doing and spend quality time with someone
How about sharing your ideas in the comments section of this blog.
Jesus’ life was filled with times when He helped and was kind to others. That was the purpose of His birth and it continued throughout his life. We need to keep the momentum going well beyond December 25th.
Let’s all agree, that we will search for and act upon the opportunities that lay right in front of us to continue the season of giving and loving.
May the miraculous moments of Christmas be with you today and everyday as we remember His life and His death was to save us from ourselves.
Merry Christmas!
