Wealthy Living Christmas

The traditional Christmas of chestnuts roasting over an open fire may not be possible for everyone.  Afterall, some of us may not have a fireplace while others live in areas where it's not cold enough to light a fire.  But there is one thing for certain, we can all praise and thank God for the gift of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can all have a beautiful Christmas.  However, that wasn't always the case for me.

Growing up my family always had a sad and dismal Christmas Eve.  Every year my sisters and I verbalized like parrots what our mother always said,; "that this year we'll have another miserable Christmas" -- and like clockwork our misery always followed.  

We would buy games and snacks for late Christmas eve to have a fun evening after delivering our presents,  but instead we rushed through our visits because my dad had come home drunk from work (he didn't drive thankfully).  He was never mean, he just fell asleep.  So we all went to bed early.  

Christmas morning we would prepare for our family gathering to cover up the empty feelings that had put each of us to sleep. 

Of course we all blamed my father for our ruined Christmases, but in order to be just I have to examine the days before that special event.  Three hundred and sixty-four days out of the year my mother called my father stupid instead of dear or honey as a part of their relationship.  When he kissed her hello each evening after returning home from work, she would push him away from her as if he were the last person on earth she could love.  Before I realized what I was doing, I had joined in with my mother and sisters, calling my dad names and telling him to "shut up."  We were a mean lot to this poor man who only needed to be loved and understood. 

One day I woke up shocked at how I was treating my father.  He was a good man, not able to say one bad thing about any of us. His love was greater than what we deserved.   Everyone outside our family who knew him loved him, in fact he was quite popular with many people because of his kindness and intelligent conversations.  He knew a lot about everything, but that didn't stop my family from calling him stupid.  

I decided from that day to give my father the respect he deserved no matter how the rest of the family treated him.  Somehow that decision changed how I looked at Christmas too.  I decided that I would make it what I wanted it to be.  When I grew older, I didn't have a problem with Christmas because of my earlier decision to always be thankful and happy. 

Having a wealthy living Christmas is in our power.  If we have family members who we believe ruin our Christmas joy, perhaps we need to give them our love and respect during the rest of the year. Yet, if there are members who are outwardly mean and have no intention of changing, maybe they shouldn't be a part of our holidays. When we're adults we all have the power to choose who we want to share our special holidays with and our lives for that matter.  

Christ was born to take away our sins and to give us renewal of life.  That makes Christmas a reminder of the ability we have in Christ to receive His peace, joy and love and to share it with others.  

Learning this kept me thankful that my dad would stop drinking.  Over the years he drank less and less until he stopped drinking completely.  Maybe it was my love that helped him make that change, but I believe it was  my faith and prayers mixed with God's love that created that miracle.  Whatever happened, it was one of the greatest Christmas presents I have ever received.  

Live, love, and create your own joy.  A wealthy living Christmas can be your experience every day!