Wish you Joy and Peace
Open this gift first…it sparkles underneath the tree.
Jesus. I have loved Jesus most of my life. I sang songs to Him when I was a small girl. I have proof that He has picked me up and put me back together again several times in my life. He lives inside of my heart and NOT some far away place up above. I need Him every day. So Jesus is my first gift to you this year.
Oh, I see a brightly wrapped gift…named love.
Love. Now that one is not so easy to do…to love people. (Well, hey, they do all sorts of things that rub us the wrong way…they are too loud or too selfish, or too rude.) It is difficult for me to love. I am still practicing. Listening to our children is the best way to show that we love them, especially older children and adult children. We want to say what we want to say. It’s hard to listen, we have to be quiet to do that. Spending time with small children is the most loving thing that you can do for them. Don’t buy them things, give them the gift of your time.
Loss, when you have lost some one that you love…please remember that love is eternal. It is not physical and it never ends. You cannot see love…you can only feel it, and even with your loved one not physically here…you can still love them.
A blue package with a bright gold bow…it’s big!!!
Memories. Memories of grand parents. The smell of their house, and them. Something about grand parents just smells sweeter. Their smile, and their eyes when they looked at you. They way they took your hand when you went somewhere with them. Their cooking, no body can fry chicken like grandma.
Whether your memories are of a teacher, a friend, a play that you were in at your school. Catching the candy at the Christmas parade, memories make us feel good.
Here is another gift set to the side of the tree…
Others. Sometimes I see an older person in the grocery store and I might not remember that they live alone. I may be the only other person that they see all day. Can I share a smile with them so that they can smile back? It helps them. It makes them feel that they are still worthwhile…to smile.
Can you help another? Will you hold the door open for a stranger? Will you slow down in a busy parking lot and not make them think that you are running over them?? Let’s try to use this gift of others.
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Now there is an envelope on one of the branches of the tree. It has my name on it. I will open it. Money. When I think of the economy as it is, and it is rough. I wonder how it will change us. I heard on the radio that divorce rates are down because people cannot afford to get a divorce. I heard that people are eating at home more rather than going out to eat. I heard that families are going to the park and planning things to do that don’t cost a lot of money. I read that people are having more family meetings in regard to how they spend what money that they have. We can look for the good in this if we will see it.
Now we are at the dinner table…Yum!! Food. I love the food at Christmas. The smell of ham and turkey and dressing. Hot rolls. Yum!!! My friend, Sharon, makes yummy fudge and I eat it! Enjoy dinner with your loved ones and try and help those less fortunate than you. We can diet next year. Ha Ha
We are full now, and tired…we have opened all of the gifts.
This Christmas let’s remember to…………..pass it on. Let’s carry these thoughts and many of your own into the coming year, and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Lynda Startzman Stewart
Razorback Financial
