Kelly’s Christmas Shop

Posts Tagged ‘christians and christmas’

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas — oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it overspending… the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma — the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, I wish just one of them could have won, he said. They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.

Mike loved kids — all kids — and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.

His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition — one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn’t end there. You see, we lost Mike one year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

Author Unknown (Please notify me if anyone can identify the author. Thanks!)

As Christian men and women, we know the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts, but how many of us proclaim this fact to the world around us during the holidays? We can gently challenge those who would see Christmas as a time for commercialism and greed by letting our actions speak for themselves.

Pass it on. Want to give a special gift to a friend or coworker? Give them the gift of the Word. Share the Christmas story, and I don’t mean “’Twas the Night before Christmas”. Pre-printed leaflets recounting the miracle of Jesus’ birth can be purchased from a Christian bookseller. Or, add that personal touch and create a booklet of your own. A small item, such as a candle, can be included too. Fill a weary heart with God’s message.

Share His love. When someone invites a person to their house, it signifies that they wish to share their good fortune with them. When we accept Christ into our lives, his home becomes our home. Invite a friend or coworker to God’s house for an Advent service or a Christmas program. They will be glad they came.

Get involved. For people living on the fringes of society, life gets a little bit harder around the Christmas holidays. Suicide rates increase. Those in urgent need, like the poor and destitute, become more so due to the weather conditions that time of year. God cries out for us to show His love.

Volunteers are a welcomed sight at holiday time. Soup kitchens and food banks seek extra people to prepare and serve hot meals and help with food box deliveries. The social services agency can provide particulars on families in the area that want to be “adopted” for Christmas. As a church body, everyone can pitch in and provide gifts and other necessary items. Providing gifts for orphaned children can also be a church project or one taken on by individual families within the congregation. If you see a need that has yet to be met, begin your own program to provide it.

Don’t be afraid to say “Merry Christmas”. In this day of being politically correct, many companies and individuals are trying to make it unpopular to say “Merry Christmas” – rather, we are told we need to say “Happy Holidays”. Please take time to wish anyone you meet a very, Merry Christmas with a great big smile on your face! You may just brighten someone’s day and give them an opportunity to respond in kind.

The object here is to let Christ’s light shine in the life of another. During his lifetime, Jesus met each person at their level of need. Someone whose belly has been filled with food you helped to provide will be ready to hear more about the God you serve.

A commitment to Christ is a commitment to communicate his life and love to others. If Christ is number one in our lives, our actions should let everyone know it. As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to bring to the world, a true understanding of the Christmas season.