Christmas is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ but it is also a time of year when so many people find themselves lonely and depressed.  I remember when I was a little child the joy at coming out on Christmas morning to see the tree all decked out and underneath the tree were what I thought were hundreds of presents.

In a matter of moments all the presents it had taken my mom hours to wrap were opened and in various stages of disassembly.  As I grew into adulthood Christmas took on a new meaning for me.  I no longer saw Christmas as a time of getting presents but also as a time of giving to my friends and family.  I had a newfound joy in going out and buying gifts for my friends and coworkers.   I would go out of my way to find the perfect gifts for each person on my list. 

As the saying goes all the presents were wrapped with care and a lot of tape and wrinkled paper, but it’s the love that counts.  I would then spend the next few days driving to and fro in my car handing out the presents.  I had to use a car because a sleigh was too much to rent and where I live there just wasn’t enough snow anyway.  I often wondered what it would look like driving down the road going from house to house with a sleigh and a team of reindeer.  

I would distribute each present with high expectations that they would being a little joy to the persons life.  Of course there were those gifts that were returned or exchanged but I didn’t care because I knew that each person understood how much I cared for them and that the present was a symbol of that love and care.  As I grow older I still see Christmas as a time of caring and sharing but I also see it as a time of retrospection.  A time when we need to examine our hearts and discover if we are getting caught up in the true meaning of the season or the cheap facsimile brought about by the retailers.

Christmas is a time that we need to look around us and see the people whom God brings our way.    We should be doing this everyday but Christmas is especially rough for some people.  Christmas is a time where in the true holiday spirit you need to get to know someone whom you don’t really know.  Think about it, God came to this earth in human form to see what it was like to be human.  Do you know what it is like to be the person sitting next to you on the bus, at work or even church probably not?  

As Christians we assume too much and believe that because we are joyful so is everyone else.  Well they’re not.   Most people are experts at hiding their true feelings but are only too willing to share when asked.  It is time we got, went out and got to know our fellow members of the human race.  A cup of coffee and a few words goes a long way in spreading the love of God.  So hitch up your sleigh and get the reindeer out and remember what it was like to get all those presents as a little child. Then take that same joy and give your love away to someone else

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year