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Happy, happy Christmas! This is the special day, the special Baby, the special Man, the special event, the special love that binds us together. What we celebrate at Christmas is a love so monumental that it encircles all mankind, and can be expressed in any language, by anyone and to anyone. Sending Jesus down to earth was expression of God’s love for human kind. It is a love so intimate that it understands each person’s unique and deepest heart cry and provides the perfect personalized solutions, because that love knows and understands us better than we understand ourselves.

Giving can be so simple. All we need to do is keep our eyes open to the needs of others. – L. Schmidt

Christmas Gifts

As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, let us remember the three wise men, kings who came bearing gifts from afar. In one sense, they were the first gift-givers at Christmas. They serve as models of the generosity found in the human heart. Their example of sharing the wealth with a poor, homeless family offers guidance to us.

Like the Magi, we have three gifts to offer — if only we look deep within ourselves to find them. The gifts we can share today cost nothing, but are priceless: respect, kindness, and time.

Respect: Showing respect to others is a gift to ourselves and to everyone we meet. Teachers will tell you that respect is a foundation for learning. We need to retrieve this virtue and pass it on to our children.

Kindness: It’s the easiest gift to give, simply greeting people on the street, looking into their eyes, sharing a smile and saying hello. Practice a random act of kindness as you go about your holiday schedule by holding the door open for someone, giving up a parking spot at the mall, or being polite to the next telemarketer.

Time: Volunteers know the value of giving time to others. Caregivers, especially, know how shut-ins and nursing home residents appreciate visits from people. Even within our own families, spending an afternoon with a grandparent, an elderly aunt or uncle or a neighbor can lift the human spirit. Beginning this Christmas, make time for others.

There are other virtues we can share, but offering our respect, treating others with kindness, and giving time are good places to start. They can be our modern version of the three gifts presented by the Magi to our Lord at Bethlehem. They can also bring us the Christmas joy.

Excerpts of an article by Sam Lucero

A Christmas Rose

I hurried into the local department store to grab some last-minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I wo uld be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.

I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, “Are you sure I don’t have enough money?” She replied a bit impatiently, “You know that you don’t have enough money for it.” The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll.

After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, “It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it.” I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, “No, Santa can’t go where my sister is... I have to give the doll to my Momma to take to her.” I asked him where his sister was.

He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, “She has gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go be with her.” My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, “I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store.” Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he had taken at the front of the store. He said, “I want my Momma to take this with her so she don’t ever forget me. I love my Momma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister.”

I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking, I reached into my wallet and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, “Shall we count that money one more time?” He grew excited and said, “Yes, I just know it has to be enough.” So, I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it.

Of course, it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, “Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money.” Then the boy said, “I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Momma a white rose, but I didn’t ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Momma. She loves white roses so very very much.”

In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl, and the mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.

Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. And there she was, holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store.

I left there in tears, my life changed forever.

Article by John London