Our local news station has been showing pictures of Santa moments gone wrong. It is fun to see the photos that have been submitted and shown on air. Not all children are thrilled to see St. Nick! We have all stopped and smiled as we walked by Santa’s spot at the mall. Parents, and their carefully dressed children, stand in line waiting for their turn. Most are excited to sit in Santa’s lap but there are those who, upon arrival, take one look at the old guy in a velvet suit with a shaggy beard and burst into tears. My favorite video is the little boy who looks at Santa and promptly comments on his bad breath! If you have kids, you have lots of Christmas memories that make you smile. But Christmas isn’t all smiles. Many people will spend Christmas day with their memories, but just their memories. Janet Marchmont lost her beloved husband, George, this past year. Pastors aren’t supposed to have favorites, but George and Janet were favorites of ours. Our sweet friend wrote this poem and I wanted to share it with you.
Chatting With George
I’m wearing your warm wooly gloves today
And your blanket is over my knees.
I speak to you often as though you could hear
And as frequently, Dear, as I please.
How often I think of our sixty-four years
For they’re all part and parcel of me.
Each thread and each fiber, each moment in time
Is a tapestry fine as can be.
Well it’s Christmas, my love, and our first one apart
And it isn’t so “merry” it’s true.
But be perfectly sure that wherever I am
By George, I’ll be thinking of you!
Love, Mopsy
This sweet friend is not unusual. There are a lot of people who will struggle to enjoy the holiday this year. But we can help. Here is the challenge for the week before Christmas. How can you bless someone’s Christmas season this week? I’ll bet this group of readers could do some remarkable Christmas giving – if we just look around and let God point out the who, what and where. What if it is you who is in need of a blessing? The best way I know to receive Christmas joy is to be blessed by God for giving to another. Your gift doesn’t need to involve finances – in fact for many people the expense will simply cost them time. Could it be that your favorite Christmas memory for this year will result from the remarkable gift you will give this week?
You are now able to send comments on these blogs and I would like to use this week to share ideas. Is there a suggestion you would make to the readers about a way to bless someone this Christmas? I am a fan of “accumulated wisdom”. Share yours with us! What can the readers of this blog do this week – to give someone else a Christmas blessing to remember? Share your ideas, and share what the Lord leads you to do. You can use your first name, a nickname or no name at all. There are more than 500 subscribers now. Imagine what could happen this week if we encourage and pray for one another. I’m smiling now thinking of the Christmas joy that will be given in the name of the Christmas child. And I’m reminded of a favorite Bible passage: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:34-36).
The wise men went to great effort to give gifts to the newborn King. This week, so can we. I look forward to hearing your stories!
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