A Christmas Message

Granny here,

Well, it's that time of year when the world puts on their false face of good cheer for the season. I know that sounds harsh for the beginning of a Christmas message but anyone that knows old granny knows that I pretty well tell it just like it is and that doesn't win me any brownie points with most but there's only one that I have to answer to and He says the truth shall set your free.

This time of year we see all the stops pulled out with all the charming movies, the cute commericals that give us that warm and fuzzy feeling that says go shopping for all those we "love" so much. But really what is going on here in the season of glad tidings and good cheer? For most of the world it is a time when true feelings are buried for the moment and that false pretense is put into place. It is a time when we celebrate the "fake" season that man has invented for themselves.

We go through the motions of loving what is going on, the parties we attend when we really would rather be home in our pajama's doing "our thing" whatever that is. The office get togethers that send chills down our spine instead of goosebumps of joy that we can have that time to really spend time together. And oh, yes the family affairs where the air is so thick with resentments that one can barely see the Christmas tree and the grudges that are being held against one another would make the Grinch proud.

There's the mother who hasn't spoken to her children in months and vise versa, the sister that is so engulfed in her own opinion of other family members that she fails to receive the love that is offered, the son who thinks that is aging father is a joke from the past and needs to move into the twenty first century. The grandchild that doesn't set foot in the grandparents home except on Thanksgiving and Christmas to haul off the loot that is under the tree.

The brothers who don't see that time is slipping away and their time together is just about to run out. Do they cherish those few moments together or are their memories of bad days gone by clouding up their vision. The employers who take advantage of employees who give their lives to make them and their companies who they are. The children who leave their parents in the past while they run into the future believing that parents don't belong in that world. This is a sad picture but it's the real picture.

I know that this doesn't apply one hundred percent to all but sadly it applies to way too many and we are just fooling ourselves when we think otherwise. Don't you think that the greatest gift we could give this year would really be ourselves. By that I mean when we're with mom and dad or grandma and grandpa really be with them, be in the moment, enjoy that moment, listen to the old folks say the same old thing over and over, it's all they have left, it's these memories that fuel their desire to keep living, it's their legacy that they hope you will cherish as much as they do and take it from someone who knows one day you will. You won't always have that opportunity so take advantage of it when it comes along.

A word to parents who brush off their children when all that child wants is an arm around their neck saying "I know you're trying" or "I'm proud of what you've accomplished so far and I know there's much more in store for you" instead of "what do you think you're doing" "when I was your age I was this or that". Take those moments with your children and make those memories that one day will fill your mind during those long hours that you will be alone with yourself and you want to be person that makes good company.

Doesn't this picture set the tone for a season that is suppose to be filled with love and good cheer? Sometimes in today's world we will see that sign that says "Jesus is the reason for the season" and that's the truest statement that we have going for us. With Jesus as the center of your Christmas it will really be Christmas not just another day set aside for spending money. I'll admit I do my share of that too and that's part of it.

I do so love the giving spirit of Christmas. The spirit of giving that seems to overtake the world at this time but is the giving because we love or is it because the world is caught up in the whirlwind of commericalism. Giving is what it's all about God gave us a gift and so we give, but do we give for the same reason that God gave. He gave His Son because He loved us so much that He gave the most precious thing He had and that was part of Himself that we might have the real joy of Christmas and without Jesus Christmas would be just another day on the calendar no matter what we may try to convince ourselves of otherwise. Christmas isn't about us it's about Him. The true gift.

So this Christmas when you look around at faces look beyond those ill feelings, that grudge you may be holding, that jealousy you may be harboring for no reason other than your own opinion and see what really matters, the person behind those eyes, that person that may have those same ill feelings, that same jealousy  or that grudge and see that person that Jesus can transform and give them the real reason for Christmas. He can give the real Christmas joy, He can make that gift that you give have the true meaning of Christmas wrapped within it.

May this be the best Christmas you've ever experienced just because you choose to to let it be by giving of yourself to those who need you. Make it the best by giving your best, your best time, your best attention, your best compliment and most of all you at your best.

Merry Christmas everyone
Granny here, just saying!