That was the realization I had as I lay on the sofa watching "A Christmas Carol" which for me, has become a Christmas tradition I made for myself years ago. It was my father's favorite Christmas movie, and so I try and honor his memory by ending Christmas with a watching of this incredible tale. The hustle and bustle of preparation for Christmas has come to an end. The Christmas gifts have all been distributed, the food prepared for celebration is now wrapped away as "leftovers" inside of the refrigerator. Christmas present has now become another Christmas past. And as the Spirit of Christmas Past had Ebenezer Scrooge revisit his past, I found myself joining him on his journey as I thought about that of my own...
The real gifts of Christmas are not those store bought items that lay now open and unwrapped under the tree. The true gifts of Christmas are those you can't buy in a store. If you reflect upon your own Christmas' past perhaps your "gifts" will differ from my own. But the first gift of Christmas I opened tonight in the quiet aftermath of the holiday was that of "Gratitude." I found myself thinking about how wonderful a Creator we have who has bestowed so many gifts upon us. In this busy day and age it is easy to take so much for granted, if not for the "taste buds" He created us with, we would not be able to enjoy the wonders and delight of "flavors" of all the wonderful dishes that we work so hard to create for the holidays or the fact that we have the means to partake in those wonderful dishes - either by making them ourselves or partaking in the celebration by invitation of someone else who has created dishes for us.
With such busy lives, many of us get caught up with the thought of problems, situations, or worries even - that we don't take the time to reflect on the things that truly matter. It is not until something causes us to pause and reflect that we slow down enough to quiet ourselves and *really* see the blessings of the season. In doing so, we often miss out on the true Spirit of Christmas and how we can apply it not only once a year, but all year long to our current lives. What gifts are you carrying forward with you from this Christmas which is quickly becoming a thing of the past?
If you were surrounded by friends, family and loved ones - you are more fortunate than some. Life changes in a heart beat and we never know what tomorrow will bring - or whom it will take away. We tend to think that life is "owed" to us. We forget how fragile it is, we and those we love are not promised tomorrow and while we shouldn't live in the fear of what tomorrow will bring, we should show those we love *today* just how much they are loved and appreciated so that when our today becomes a thing of the past, we will know that those we love who have not been given the gift of tomorrow will have known how much we loved them. That same Creator who was thoughtful enough to create us with "taste buds" also created us with a very special gift that is our own "internal camera" called "Memory." And in looking back at my Christmas' past I am able to once again be with loved ones whose "tomorrows" have at one point come to an end. I am able to recall, smile and revisit my Christmas' past with them through those remarkable times, which allows them through those memories to become a part of the present, especially when I am able to share the "memory of them" with those gathered around me. How wonderful a gift to be able to reflect upon and share.
The second gift I opened tonight in post-celebration reflection was "Humility." As Ebenezer was shown by the Spirits all his short comings and sins and how it not only affected himself but those around him. I found myself looking back at the passing year, the lessons I've learned and the things within myself which need changing. Although we cannot change what has occurred in the past we can apply what we've learned to the present with the hopes that such changes will make for a better future (should we be given one). What have you learned looking back at this year that has also almost become a thing of the past? What will you take with you? What will you toss aside? What will you do differently in the year to come? These are all things I contemplate as Christmas present comes to a close and we prepare to say goodbye to not only another Christmas season, but to close the books on yet another year that will now be looked upon as another contribution to history.
There is one last gift that comes to mind, and in my opinion it is the one that perhaps is the most important gift of all... That is the gift of love. It was that in which Christmas began. For John 3:16 tells us:
"That God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Love is a gift that is wide reaching, and if we show it with sincerity (even with all of our imperfections) we can have no idea how far reaching it will go. Once planted those seeds blossom and bloom in ways that we may never had expected it would. A kind or unselfish gesture that is not self-seeking can be more powerful than anything else on earth. You never know what someone else is going through or what is happening in their life. Reflecting on Christmas' past, I have seen in the unselfish gesture of hospitality that my parents innocently extended Christmas' years ago, when I was just a child to people who otherwise had no place to go for the holidays or simply opted to spend the holiday with our family, something that has now over the course of the years become a wonderful tradition and has defined Christmas to me. By extending hospitality to others, who may otherwise have spent such a major holiday alone - in having a celebration of warmth, friendship and love on Christmas Eve - God used my parents (probably to the extent unknown even to them) to abolish loneliness and sadness and depression the lives of people who had no place else to go. They did it not letting their left hands know what their right hands were doing. They did it not with the expectation of "receiving" anything back. There is no possible way that they could have known that by simply sharing Christmas with others it would become an annual yearly tradition which blessed not only those who came, but resulted in teaching our family so much. Guests who came from all walks of life and added such a rich diversity of learning about other cultures and religions as they shared with our family, traditions from their own. Christmas Eve became like that of a big pot of stew - each guest adding a certain spice to the pot which over the course of the years became so flavor able it become a favorite dish which was more than palpable to all who partook. Amazingly all those who entered the doors of my parents house, found that they could not only come join in the sharing of Christmas Eve "once" but as Christmas Eve would come the next year, they found themselves coming back time and time again until now it has reached a point, where those very same people are now bringing the next generation of their families over to my parents house, into what has become an annual tradition and for some - the definition of Christmas. Even ten years after the death of my father, my mother has still carried forth the now family tradition year after year. My brother and I often tease my mother and tell her that she couldn't stop having a Christmas Eve celebration if she wanted to, because people would still "automatically come." This is not because of anything other than the key ingredient that my parents realized was the main ingredient to making the Christmas holiday a successful and full filling one to everyone who decided to share the holiday with us. Peace on earth, good will to men - the key ingredient to the Holiday, that allows "love" to co-exist past, present and future and that to me, is the gift, which keeps on giving not only one designated day of the year - but all year long.
