I’ve had a very tough season getting into the holiday spirit this year, still not quite sure why but my son becoming a full-blown teen is probably a major factor. I thought this morning on the way to work about all of my blessings-I even called a few to reach out and be proactive-something we sometimes lose site of in our busy lives. So I asked for some sort of sign, for some way of getting into the feeling of the holiday and I realized both from previous holidays and from the things I witnessed on the road how no one nor no circumstance can steal this holiday from us-for us believers there is the greatest gift of all and for those who believe in other things there is family and a chance to reconnect with what the year has given us-good or bad.

I than realized that some of the most terrible moments in recent seasons had turned into what the holiday is really about. One night before Thanksgiving, quite a few years back, I almost lost my wife and yet it turned out to be the greatest thanksgiving I can remember. I felt a presence that I cannot explain and a peace that is indescribable, even through all the darkness the true meaning of the season presents itself in a language and with a presence that we would never ask for nor understand if it weren’t thrust upon us. Another holiday that should have been horrible was when my mom fell and broke her hip-we spent the holidays in a hospital in Plano and again, Christmas stripped away from the whole lights and glitter, presents and tinsel is the feeling of having family close, for reaffirming what you have instead of missing what you don’t.

A third realization I had was while passing the cemetery. I noticed the blue tents-I hate blue tents and what they signify in this particular cemetery. I watched families with that same familiar look-the faraway silent glance down, the indifferent stone and that uncomfortably green field where we lay our most precious gifts. This life is not a given, the next day is not a given, we need to enjoy each moment not for what it’s missing but for what it is. This can often be very difficult with depression and the inability to feel, loneliness and the feeling of isolation and circumstances that try us to our cores but we need to realize we are only here for a short time, the pain will fade, the time will pass and we just need to celebrate as much as we possibly can even though often we need to dig deeper and see clearer than we perhaps want to. I wish everyone a merry Christmas and Happy New Year with hope for tomorrow and peace for today.