Christmas Memories

I have decided to blog because I am hogging Face Book today.  I figured I must have something to say.  I am looking back and forward to Christmas.  Many wonderful memories of the past.  If there was one thing my folks knew how to do that was celebrating holidays.  Many good, happy memories when I was young.  We were not rich by no means but you would never have been able to tell that if you came over to our home on Christmas.  Now than I am older, I now realize that all the presents under the tree were not necessarily high quality stuff, but my parents thought the more the merrier.  We always seem to have a lot!  I never knew how they manged to produce so much for us, when we seemed to struggle throughout the year.  I now realize there is this thing that the stores use to have; called lay away.  It was a payment plan you had with the store.

  The most precious gift I remember getting as a child was a Mary Poppins doll.  Now that I think of it I really loved all my dolls.  My motherly instinct would come out of me.  We would usually go to church Christmas Morning and I would remember taking my doll along, as if she was my baby.  After wards, we would go to my grandparents where the whole family would gather.  I really have no memories of it, I just have seen pictures.

As I became a teenager, Christmas was just a night to party.  No more tradition, dreaming, or gratitude.  Just one thing in mind.  It seemed like every Christmas I would get so messed up I would end up ruining the evening for almost everyone.  I would end up angry,spiteful and hateful.  Not a nice picture.

Now, here I am years later.  Cherishing every thing about Christmas.  So sentimental, realizing it's the simple things that bring me joy.  Family, friends and faith.  This is, what it is all about.  Christmas is not just about a baby, born to a virgin.  No,  it's about my God coming to earth in human form, to become the sacrifice for my sins.  So that I can have a real relationship with him.  This is the first year ever that I have been able to grab hold of this truth. To know I can bear my heart, dreams and disappointments with him and that he cares about all of me and loves me dearly, because of Christmas I can say I am his child.  There is no greater gift than that.

The other thing I truly enjoy and love doing is giving.  Giving brings me more joy than anything. It doesn't have to be expensive.  Something simple or just giving of myself; I find people appreciate the most.  Open your heart and see what God can do with you this year.  You may find out that your greatest gift will come from him.