What Christmas Means to Me...

Christmas can, and should, be a time of great joy and celebration. But, for countless tens of thousands of people, it can also have a few tinsel strands of sadness mixed in with the joy.

If you have lost someone you love at Christmas, that often heightens the depth of the emotions one feels. My dad passed away on December 15, 1981. And, my mom died on December 16, 1985. Christmas always reminds me of how much I miss them. Genuine sorrow is something that a person never really loses. Yes, with the passing of time the hurt lessens. But even now, all these years later, at the oddest moments I am overcome with grief at the loss of my parents. So, Christmas becomes a time of remembering those who are now gone.

Times of trouble in one's life at Christmas also can leave a twinge of sadness. I spent Christmas 2005 in the hospital fighting to live. By God's grace, and the care I received from many wonderful doctors and nurses, I pulled through. So, Christmas always reminds me of the healing I received at a time when I lay helpless in a hospital bed, unable to move.

Most importantly of all, Christmas is a time to remember the birth of the Christ child, God Incarnate. Out of His unfailing and undying love, God gave us the gift of His Son that we might move from mere creatures to become His children and joint heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God. Everyone who has even a glimmer of understanding at the enormity of this gift should truly join with the choir of angels and sing, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth Peace to all mankind."

_{Copyright © 2009 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}