All of us can probably recall a Christmas where we REALLY wanted a certain gift, one that was special to us. Simple or complex, big or small, in our minds, it was the item that would just make our Christmas the most magical Christmas ever.
As a child, I suppose every year there was some gift that was a 'must have' have gift for me. Every year, it would be something different, but whatever it was, it was THE gift that I just had to have.
Whatever the gift was, there was one consistent characteristic from year to year. It was a gift that I was unable to obtain on my own. It was forever out of my reach. I had to rely on my Mom and my Dad to supply that gift that was unobtainable.
And really, that is the essence of Christmas.
Christmas is a time to reflect and re-center our lives on the gifts we have been, gifts that were unattainable on the basis of our efforts alone.
Gifts of peace, joy, and abiding love.
Looking at our world and the tragic events that have occurred recently, we often wonder if those gifts really exist. Seeing death around us, especially innocent lives lost, we doubt they are real. When we or a loved one walk through the dark valley of illness or loss, peace, joy and love are often not to be found.
Yet when the light of Heaven pierced the dark night to announce the birth of the Christ child, the announcement also heralded the presence of the gifts that we could not provide for ourselves: peace; joy; and love.
They are here even today in our troubled world and frantic lives. The giver of those gifts calls us back during this season to know that He provides what we cannot provide for ourselves. Christmas reaffirms the gifts we have been given and the hope of a life and world that is forever changed by the receiving of the generosity of Heaven.
May Christmas bring peace, joy, and love to you and all your household and in the coming year.
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