By John Kubicek
Christmas... Is it really "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"? Is it the "happiest season of all"? For some, it is. For others, it is not. Uh, no, I'm not going to provide any scientific research data. No numbers that you will have to dive through. This is just an observation based on the views of people that I know and love.
For me? Christmas is great! Was it always? Absolutely not!
The one thing that I found out was that many people seemed to have painful memories of this season. And yes, on the positive side, for many people, there have been many joyful memories!
I am one of the vast majority of people that can easily say that they've experienced both sides of the spectrum. There have been many good memories just as much as there have been very sad memories. And then, there will be years when this season results in mixed memories, both good and bad.
Well, I guess that's the way I've looked at this year, to a point. There were, and have been things this year that I know are affecting me, and much of that is knowing what others are going through. I know of people that have recently lost loved ones, and I know of people that are still suffering severe financial hardships from the Flood of 2008 here in Cedar Rapids.
It was after reading Glenn Book's Christmas classic, "The Christmas Sweater," just before Christmas, that I decided that this was going to be a year that I would enjoy every little bit of the Christmas spirit that I could soak in. I decided not to only enjoy the happiest Christmas memories of the past, but I would do everything I could to produce brand new happy Christmas memories. And, in my heart, I succeeded.
Early this week, I happened to come across something new. It was a musical group that I had not heard of before. I recorded it. I put in on youtube.com, and I believe that it is worthy of sharing with you on this great day of the Lord! Here they are, the Annie Moses Band:
Bethlehem, the House of Bread
We Three Kings
Do you ever wonder sometimes how it is possible to be joyful in times of sorrow? There's a good chance that you haven't found a way to do that. I'm one of the lucky ones that has succeeded in that effort. I learned to combine the best of the old memories with developing new good times that I won't forget. Here is an example of that, brought to you by "Straight No Chaser":
It could have happened to you in the past... It could be happening to you now... Or, it could happen to you in the future. Whatever it is, I just hope that I can remind you that not everything that happens to you is YOUR plan. No, but you can be joyfull knowing that there is a God that has a much greater plan for you. Make what you want to of this season, but for me, that thought that God gave us the gift of that child, it is what makes this another Great Christmas!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
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2 comments:
Great post Johnny. God Bless you. This is terrific. I am happy to be your "digg" friend. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gift with us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you so very, very much for your comment! Just knowing that somebody liked what I wrote keeps me going.
And, "HowDoYouKnow" is a fantastic name, it really says what it's all about right now. We have found that the amount of information on the web is practically infinite; there is no way we can get through it all. And that is for those of us that have put away the computer games, and just do our best to keep up with ALL of the news.
So, "how do we know"? There is always that other timeless source of information. It is called the Bible! That's right, everything that we actually NEED to know is right there, in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
Thank you so much for writing your wonderful comment! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too!
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