Gina Caswell Kelly
It is December. Can you believe it? It seems that the older I get, the faster time goes by, and the older I get! It is a vicious cycle. I love December. I love the Christmas decorations and lights. I love the smiles that people wear just a little more often around this time of year. I love hearing the “want lists” of little boys and girls. When Kristy was living at home, she would sit down with the catalogs and a black marker and go through the books circling items that she wanted. Every catalog I looked at was just covered with black circles. I never had to guess what she wanted for Christmas!
I love giving gifts and getting them too I suppose, but more and more these last few years, I find that I am much more interested in taking care of those whose needs are greater than my wants. There are so many opportunities to give to others during this season. It is not hard to find an individual or family or organization that could benefit from your giving much more than you would benefit from a new purse or tie. Consider looking for a way to help others as a family this Christmas season. Look around at what all you have and ask yourself, “Do I really need anything else? Isn’t there someone else I could help instead of giving or receiving more stuff?” Talk to your extended family. Maybe they would be perfectly content with you giving a gift in their name to someone or some group that could really use the help. In our church, there is the offering to help foreign missionaries serving God. Locally, there is Goodfellows that could use your help. There are Angel Trees in a couple of places. There is just no end to those who could use your help this year. Just look!
The thing I love most about this time of year is the fact that it is a golden opportunity to share Jesus with the world. If you talk about Jesus around Christmas, it seems people are much more open to listen. We are living in a world where so many are dying everyday without knowing the Savior. That is just heartbreaking. We have got to be intentional about sharing Jesus with the world. Especially now, He is, after all the “Reason for the Season.” Although, I heard a preacher say something recently that had never occurred to me. He said, “Jesus isn’t the reason for the season. I am the reason!” And, do you know what? He is right.
Each one of us is the reason for the season. Why was Jesus born that night in Bethlehem? Because God knew that one day, I would be living here and I would need a Savior. He sent Him for me. I was the reason that Jesus came, lived, and died. And not just me, of course. You are also the reason for the season. I think looking at it like that puts a new perspective on things. It makes Jesus’ birth much more personal. I think it makes you look at your life a bit differently. If God valued you so much that He would send His Son, His only Son to be born in a manger and die on a cross for you, don’t you think your life is supposed to mean something?
As we approach this season and think about the meaning behind it, put yourself in as the reason for the season and think about what was done for you so many years ago.
Helping others. Understanding why we celebrate. Recognizing that YOU and I are indeed the “Reason for the Season.” Do not all these things make you heart just bubble over!
Give! Understand! Recognize! And tell the story!! These are the gifts that make the difference.
