It seems this time of year nice, normal people, suddenly
turn into the Grinch. They Grinchily gripe about everything; the traffic, the
rude people, how it’s all “too much”, and they proclaim gift giving as a waste
of time and money. You see them frowning at you in the store and honking at you
on the roads. They look as if they just sucked on a lemon and any sort of cheer
on your part seems to send them over the edge as they glare at you with
squinted eyes.
And it can be easy to start believing and adopting Grinchy
ways yourself because, traffic is horrible; (where do all these people suddenly
come from?!) people are rude everywhere, not just at Costco; gift giving can be
tedious and one can start to believe that it is a waste of time and money; and
I caught myself frowning at a super cheery bell ringer for no other reason than
the person walking in front of me was looking at her phone and not walking fast
enough into the mall. My reflection in the glass of the door made me stop and
pause for a moment. I don’t want to be Grinchy and sour looking, I don’t want
the irritations of this time of year to cloud the absolute joy I feel over this
season. What I want is to spread that joy…and there is my choice…spread
Grinch-iness or spread the joy of the season.
Now, I love this time of year. I love the trees, the lights,
the get-togethers, the figuring out the perfect gifts for people, the music,
the movies, Rudolf, Charlie Brown, the baking, the giving, and the story that
makes it all happen in the first place.
You know that phrase we've all said at one point or another,
“they think they are God’s gift”? And, ‘to the world’ has fallen off the end,
but we all know it is implied. Well, Jesus was God’s gift to the world. A
perfect gift. Which is why, to me, gift giving is not a waste of time and
money. It represents this precious gift that was given on that Holy night. Love
came down and humbled Himself to be born in a smelly ol barn. For you and for
me and as Luke 2:10 says, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (emphasis mine) All people. A gift for all people! The Messiah
came down from heaven for all people, not just the Jewish people, as was
thought. What a precious gift! Joy to the world! Indeed!
So, clearly, I love this time of year and want to spread
that joy, but I also understand fully that this time of year can bring on loneliness
and heartache. It can remind us of what we don’t have instead of what we do
have. We miss horribly the people we have lost. Our lives don’t match up with
our perceptions of what our friends have and most certainly not with the Norman
Rockwell scenes in just about every TV commercial. And that can hurt. A lot. It
can remind us of our aloneness and our isolation and that what we might think
of ourselves all year long is true…that we don’t match up. And what if that is true? What if we don't match up? Here's where the 'for all the people' comes in. It didn't say for only the people who (look) like they have it all together. Nope. All the people means, well, ALL the people. For the happy, for the lonely, for the exceptionally sad, for the person who has everything. ALL. If you're sad, it's okay to be sad, even at this time of year.
If you’ve read this blog at all, you know that this year has
been especially difficult; my health issues, good friends moved away, Michael
moved, and we lost Phil. We lost Phil. I still am reeling and missing and
reliving and mourning. And within the last week, a betrayal and a black-balling
from some family members was set to take the wind out of my sails.
But no. There is no place for strife. This is a time of
forgiveness and acceptance. And in my sadness, and yes, loneliness, it is a time to perhaps break from tradition and
spend time with people who really want to spend time with me. It is a time to
really relish the season, because, sadly, no one is guaranteed another trip around
the sun. I miss my Dad. I miss Jon. I miss Phil. I miss my Grammie. If your
choice this season is to be spiteful and vindictive, well, shame on you. Time
is ticking away and as I said, there are no guarantees you or I will be here to
see another one.
So, open your eyes. See the wonder. Go find a homeless
person and give them a coat and gloves. Buy them a breakfast burrito and some
coffee. Clean out your closet and donate all the stuff you don’t wear anymore.
Swallow your pride and figure out why you are hating on that family member or
friend. Is it worth it? Hug someone. Sing
Christmas carols. Do something for someone else with no expectations of their
returning the favor. Thank someone who has made a difference in your life. It’s
Christmas. Do. Something. Do it with joy and your heart will sing. It will
forget its loneliness and open like a flower to the sunshine. And then, don’t
stop. Keep going and live your life in a way that the giving of the season will
be a way of life for you the whole year through.
And if you start to feel a little Grinchy, remember, Love
came down from heaven for you.
Wonderful, perfect you.
Merry Christmas!
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