I challenge you

Yesterday was a pleasant day. I found true Christmas joy.  A funny man in a Santa beard and hat sang very badly I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS while ringing a bell for Salvation Army. A couple dressed in Hawaiian shirts shared Mele Kalikimaka and rang their bells for Salvation Army. I dropped off goodies at Carillon Assisted Living and visited some folks needing a lift. I was lifted more. I visited Terry’s aunt, in the bed worn out from the previous day’s doctor appointment. I saw shoppers at Walmart with buggies full of toys and food they probably couldn’t afford trying to make a Merry Christmas for their family. I saw a woman in a motorized chair crossing a busy intersection at that same Walmart.

 

Every year I want a simple Christmas, a true Christmas, with joy and love and peace and harmony. Every year I get too much. Every year I buy too much, not as much as once but still too much. I give to charities and food banks and toy drives but it’s just not enough. I watch wonderful Christmas movies with wholesome stories. I listen to Christmas music. I send Christmas cards I hand make and print myself. It’s still not enough.

 

I want to have a Christmas like it is meant to be. I want to truly celebrate Jesus’ birth. I want to have peace and joy in my heart and extend it to everyone else. I want to spend time with family and friends harboring no ill against anyone. I want to feel the simple bliss of God’s presence. I want to not put myself above anyone or anything.

 

This year for the first time my husband and I both are orphans. Our parents are in heaven. They will rejoice with God and the angels and all the other friends and family there. We will have our time together with our son and his wife. It will be sweet and quiet. We will exchange gifts, watch a Christmas movie or two, and share our meals.

 

We will pray and be earnest in our heart that everyone has a day with no illness, hunger, fear or need. Christmas will pass and lives will move forward in routine and thought. Will we carry the Christmas spirit into the New Year? Will we continue to share our bounty? Will we forget to smile and say a kind greeting? Will we forget to extend our faith and blessings? Will we give selflessly to all? Will we worship and pray? Will we remember how important a faith based life is to a world hurting?

 

I challenge you to think on this. Don’t let another 365 days go by without a thought of Peace on Earth.