Christmas Lives In The Heart

At this time of year many of us are thinking about things we may not think about the rest of the calender year. Christmas time can bring to the forefront wondrous memories of times gone by. Or the excitement of being a kid and the slow moving time march to Christmas morning. Everyone knows the reason for the season and that's not forgotten here. But in addition there is the Christmas that lives in each and every one of us, that's unique and personal.

We are all busy this time of year with the shopping, gift giving, and the running around that we all get caught up in. But after the gifts have been unwrapped and all has quieted down from the morning it's still Christmas day, and eventually Christmas night. That to me is when it really becomes Christmas. That night and day if no other is the day you hopefully will be with the exact people you want to be with.

As you look around the dinner table you see that this is your life, this is your family. If no other, this is the day that all busy schedules, all other responsibilities and commitments are set aside and give way to a simpler, easier moment. In our world today this moment is not easily replicated. If you're lucky enough to welcome a new life to your table, the joy can be almost more than you thought you were capable of. A blessing indeed.

It is inevitable and normal though, among all the wonder that is that day and night, to reflect on the fact that there may be some absent from our day. Maybe they are deployed overseas, or the time and miles are just too large to overcome. Could be some other intangible for the absence, or maybe it's that they are no longer with us in body. For those we can say a prayer for, drink a toast to, and allow our hearts to feel just a bit more openly than we usually do.

Isn't that where Christmas really lives? In a part of the heart that opens a bit wider when everything that is good intersects? It is incredibly palpable when all that is important to you is all around you. It's more rare than it should be. But maybe that's the real beauty of Christmas. Maybe that's the ever evolving Christmas miracle. Replenishing the love and joy in your heart. Remembering that this time of the year is pure and good. And reminding you that all that are most important to you near or far, or just beyond your reach are always with you.

Christmas lives in the heart of us all. And at Christmas, the heart... and the heart alone, can bring all that is right for you...... right to you.