Christmas

I simply love the Holidays. It's odd, when I was a child my love for them was tremendous, but very different than it is now. And somewhere between childhood and adulthood, I forgot what it meant to appreciate Christmas. What it meant to love Christmas. And not just Christmas as the world sees it, but what it's really about. It's so interesting to me that it doesn't matter who you are, most people believe in the "magic" of Christmas. People are a little nicer, and the compassionate part of human nature tends to show it's face more. I've always loved this. I love seeing the tender part of humanity that I often think has died. But this holiday season I was hit with something I had never realized. The "magic" of Christmas is, I believe God making himself known. Let me explain what I mean. See, I somehow believe that through our own "Holiday Spirit" Christ is showing more of his love in hopes that people finally realize that Jesus TRULY is the reason for this time we all love. I look around at the Christmas miracles that happen, the stories of hope and redemption and grace. How could we NOT associate it with Christ? This Thanksgiving, I got to experience hope, redemption, and grace in a way that I never had before. It made my heart swell with gratitude and joy. I somehow knew that everything that was happen was FAR bigger than myself, or even the other people involved. It was sort of ironic that it was happening during this season. But I love how God works that way, sometimes he has to take something so fairytale like, and make it so literal so that we actually stop and realize that he is goodness itself. Now, don't get me wrong, he obviously works in wondrous ways all throughout the year, but there's something special about this time of year. If we stop to look close enough, we can literally see Jesus in every part. I love the feeling I get watching new snow fall, covering everything with it's beauty. What a great metaphor for ourselves. The pureness and softness of new fallen snow is like the love of our Savior covering us. The awe of children experiencing Christmas is the awe Mary and Joseph must have felt holding their new born son. Just like every new parent. But even MORE enthralling because he was the one who came down to save humanity. The unselfishness of gift giving, how we should strive to live each and every day. Maybe I am grasping for straws here, but I don't think so. Christmas, like every other time in life can be unbelievable if we just take the time to stop and see the beauty that surrounds us. The truth that can always be found in the midst of chaos. This Christmas season, I'm not just thankful for the birth of Christ, I'm thankful that I actually get to stop and remember what that truly means, and I hope that you do too. Merry Christmas!