KEEP CHRISTMAS WITH YOU

Marcella Ward    December 21, 2022

What does Christmas mean to you?  We know that it is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ but should we go beyond that and keep Christmas with us all year?  Yes, Jesus should be not only in our hearts each and every day but be the focus of our attention each and every day.

I remember when I was very little my mother would bake sugar cookies as was a tradition in our family and we would leave extra cookies for Santa Claus.  My mother would even tell my sister and I that Santa even came and gave us each a kiss during the night.  One day I realized that Santa Claus was not real and that Mom and Dad were the “true” Santa.  This happened when I overheard my mother talking to someone on the phone about a bicycle that was going to be given to one of my brothers.

As I got older, I remember looking out at the dark sky on Christmas Eve and just feeling the “magic” of the moment in anticipation of Christmas day.  As the years passed I remember after opening presents, there was a feeling of emptiness inside after the big event had somehow lost its excitement. 

Christmas throughout the years has changed for me from the focus on Santa Claus; to the anticipation of what I was going to receive; to the celebration of Jesus each day.  I know that Jesus came as a gift to us.  He is the gift for the world.  He is a gift that needs to be opened each and every day.  I do celebrate Christmas with family and friends but I keep my focus on the One Who came to give us life more abundantly each and every day.  We exchange gifts and I am sure that God is pleased with that but do we fail to remember that it is His birthday and we should be celebrating His birth at this time?  Sometimes I think that we get so caught up in material things and the secular notion of Christmas, that it becomes Christ-less.  It’s like throwing a birthday party and forgetting whose birthday it is!

I remember a special song that the Muppets use to sing on Sesame Street that talks about keeping Christmas with you all through the year.  It is a sentiment that I think that we should think about and celebrate each day because without Christ’s birth, the world would be in darkness.  He is the light of the world so let us celebrate His coming to us each and every day!

Keep Christmas with you
All through the year,
When Christmas is over,
You can keep it near.
Think of this Christmas day
When Christmas is far away.

Keep Christmas with you
All through the year,
When Christmas is over,
Save some Christmas cheer.
These precious moments,
Hold them very dear
And keep Christmas with you
All through the year.

Christmas means the spirit of giving
Peace and joy to you,
The goodness of loving,
The gladness of living;
These are Christmas too.  (Sesame Street)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Marcella Ward    December 21, 2022     Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”