I LOVE Christmas

I absolutely love Christmas and everything about it...... The lights, the excitement, the giddiness, the giving, the food, the candy, the Christmas Spirit but most importantly, I LOVE the specific focus on the birth of Christ.

I am a spiritually sensitive person and wear emotions on my sleeve when it comes to the spiritual side of life; more so since the passing of Zoey and the many miracles of Ayla. It's far easier now to become 'leaky eyed' than it was prior! There are even certain commercials that can bring a tear to my eye (ridiculous, I know!).

However, I was reminded that the true Christmas Spirit is never found in a surfeit of things. It is less obvious in arrival and more lasting in impact. We have been humbled time and again with acts of service and words of kindness from family, friends, neighbors and even strangers. It wasn't Christmas when these acts of service were given and kind words spoken- yet it was still done with the Spirit of Christmas.

I found this poem by a unknown author and it touched a chord:

I am the Christmas Spirit. I enter the home of poverty, causing pale-faced children to open their eyes wide in pleased wonder.

I cause the miser’s clutched hand to relax and thus paint a bright spot on his soul. I cause the aged to renew their youth and to laugh in the glad old way.

I keep romance alive in the heart of childhood and brighten sleep with dreams woven of magic. I cause eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets, leaving behind them hearts amazed at the goodness of the world.

I cause the prodigal to pause a moment on his wild, wasteful way, and send to anxious love some little token that releases glad tears—tears which wash away the hard lines of sorrow.

I enter dark prison cells, reminding scarred manhood of what might have been, and pointing forward to good days yet to come.

I come softly into the still, white home of pain; and lips that are too weak to speak just tremble in silent, eloquent gratitude.

In a thousand ways I cause the weary world to look up into the face of God, and for a little moment forget the things that are small and wretched.

I am the Christmas Spirit.

This is the spirit each true Christian seeks. This is the spirit I pray that I may find. This is the Christ spirit. No quest is so universal, no undertaking so richly rewarding, no effort so ennobling, no purpose so divine. The Christmas season seems to prompt anew that yearning within me, that seeking to emulate the Savior of the world. I want to have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. I want to learn to forget myself and turn my thoughts to the greater benefit of others......

So I figure if I 'want' things, these are the things that should be of focus. This post may be a bit deep but I've been craving a small taste of the true 'Spirit of Christmas' this season. There have been numerous miracles in our lives this year and we are feeling humbled and blessed.