We all have options in our lives - what else could I possibly post on December 25th - anger - unhappiness - loneliness? Yes - those things do exist - my blog - my choice. I chose - JOY - an emotion foreign to many people. In spite of everything that surrounds Christmas - too many people find Christmas to be a very stressful - angry - time of year. I understand - death - loss of a loved one - loss of a job - loss of hope - colored in a lot of different ways - creates a sad environment. I remember a time when I had - parents - in-laws - an older brother - a twin - the expectation of a child who was never born. Very personal - very sad. I could hide myself away - ignore others - feel unhappy - chose sadness - not my choice. I chose to look at life differently. Rather than dwell on what was - I chose to focus on what is. Family - here and now - the promise of future happiness - acknowledging the blessings God has given to me - my spouse - my children - my friends. If any of us would count our blessings versus the negative - we would have to admit that all of us have received many more blessings than not.
Like most of my friends - Christian - otherwise - we are people of HOPE. We accept the bad moments in life as moments - time that passes away - lives in the past - looking forward to all the good - Joy - that we will experience in the near future. Religious or not - Christmas is about Jesus - The Christ - God wrapped in swaddling clothes - laid in a manger when there was no proper room for the King of Kings. If He who is LORD can accept His first bed made of a manger filled with straw in a space shared with cattle can't we do as much? Life is filled with thousand of moments - most of them very good. In your own life - stop this Christmas and think - I am certain there are many moments - when you experienced Christmas Joy.
Merry Christmas
Deacon Dale
