Christmas Eve Thoughts

Merry Christmas To All

Merry Christmas to All My Blogging Friends. The other day, my Internet daughter, Meleah, had a stream of consciousness post. As I was thinking about my own post for today, I thought of hers and it seemed like a good idea to use that approach here since I can’t think of a specific idea for a post and my thoughts are all over the place. So bear with me and we’ll see where this takes us.

Ice Storm Update

I think I’ll start with an update on my daughter who is in New Hampshire. I wrote in The Iceman Cometh about their trials and tribulations in the recent ice storm in the New England region. They finally had power restored after eight days, which was a blessing. The positive side of this is that friends and neighbors stepped forward and loaned them a generator, checked on them regularly and made sure my daughter, her husband and their baby had everything they needed.

I would like to be able to report that life returned to normal for them…but that wasn’t the case at all. My grandson lives with his father in Germany and was supposed to fly into Boston last Saturday for a Christmas visit. Wouldn’t you know it, but Mother Nature decided to bless New England with a snow storm just in time for my grandson’s visit. His original direct flight was cancelled and he was put on a plane that flew through Memphis. Unfortunately, once he arrived in Memphis his plane had mechanical problems and the flight was cancelled until the next day. Since he was flying as an unescorted minor, the airline put him up in a hotel with a guard outside his door.

Kaleb finally got out of Memphis on Sunday morning and flew into Boston where my daughter and son-in-law anxiously awaited his arrival. The fact that there were blizzard conditions in the Boston area didn’t do much to lessen their anxiety. The trip home, which is normally a 45 minute drive took them three and a half hours. The storm ended up dumping over two feet of snow on them, but at least everyone was safe and sound at home. Even discovering that their snow blower was broken didn’t seem all that bad. And once again, a neighbor stepped in and helped them out by clearing their drive the next day.

Christmas Shopping

Have I mentioned that I hate Christmas shopping? It’s not the crowds at the mall, the horrible traffic, the rude people or the surly store staff that gets to me. I hate Christmas shopping because absolutely every bit of creativity I might have ever possessed takes a holiday when I start the shopping process. I could have a complete shopping list with detailed descriptions of desired gifts from every-one’s wish list, and I’m still more lost than a visitor to the Sahara with no map.

Yesterday, I drove to three shopping centers, two malls, four department stores and a convenience mart trying to tie up loose ends in the Christmas gift saga. I would have a flash of inspiration that seemed like the best idea in the world…until I took about fourteen steps. Then it seemed like the dumbest idea that had ever crossed the six working brain cells I have left.

The good news is that I finished my shopping and the love of my life will have gifts to open on Christmas morning. I’ll have to get back to you as to whether I made good choices. Because at this point, I don’t have a clue.

Seasonal Posts

As I set out to write this post I had thoughts of writing a mushy, sentimental reflection on how much all of my blogging friends have meant to my life this year. But I think I already did that at Thanksgiving. And I really hate repeating myself. As I reviewed my posts from last year, I discovered that I must have gushed about how important all of my new acquaintances had blessed my life at least three or four times between Christmas and New Years.  I was so excited about this new community I had discovered I could hardly contain myself.

The enthusiasm hasn’t wained in the least. I have the highest regard for all my blogging buddies and I hope I expressed that in the early post of my letter to Santa. There are some very gifted and thoughtful people out there in the blogosphere that I am honored to have made the acquaintance of. I’m proud to be in such wonderful company.

A Bit of Theological Reflection

At this time of year I find myself thinking about what the real meaning of Christmas is. I know that is not an original activity and I’m not unique in having this kind of reflection. After all it’s Christmas. So I hope you’ll indulge me a little as I share some of what I’ve been reflecting on.

In this day and age, information is virtually at our fingertips because of the Internet. Where we used to rely on learned, educated people to provide answers to burning questions, we can now research our own answers. In past times, priests, ministers and rabbis where the source of most of the information we had about faith and religious principles. For many of us, our exposure to ideas or understandings about God, or other spiritual matters, was very limited.

In today’s world, information about belief systems different from our is only a few keystrokes away. In fact there is so much information available…some of it completely opposed to what we were taught as children. It is no wonder that there are some who are either so confused they don’t know what to believe, or those who think that because there are so many interpretations of what is “Truth” that the idea of a Higher Power is ridiculous.

If Jesus was only a historical figure…or even if the life and teachings of Jesus is nothing more than a myth…there is still value in the code of conduct attributed to him. I don’t have to be Christian, or a devout follower of Jesus of Nazareth to recognize the good in looking out for the welfare of the those less fortunate, or responding to all with love. In fact, every major religion seems to adhere to very similar principals.

The power of Christmas is not in the exchange of gifts, it comes in the hope of the better elements of human nature. It is the ardent hope that peace and goodwill replaces greed and self-interest as the prime motivator of others. Yesterday, I saw a bumper sticker that pretty well sums up what I’m trying to say:

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

To all who grace my blog with your presence, I wish you a Christmas filled with love and happiness. Have a safe, joyous holiday.