The Gift

It was almost the middle of January and the snow had been on the ground since before Christmas. Storm after storm had hit us with no breaks in-between. Almost 6 feet of the white stuff had fallen in 6 weeks here. The bitterly cold temperatures had largely kept the snow from melting too. The arctic air had crept through the walls of my house and into my bones as well. All in all, it was the prefect recipe for a case of the Winter blahs.

To lighten my mood then I got out my old Christmas records that I had owned since I was a boy. I turned on the old record player I had bought at a yard sale a few years ago and put the needle to the vinyl. Soon the sweet sounds of "Silver Bells", "Silent Night", "Joy to the World", "Carol of the Bells", and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" filled the air. Even the January snow looked more beautiful with "The Christmas Song" playing in the background. As I sang along I could feel the loving and joyous music heat up my heart and my home. It didn’t matter that my home was no longer decorated, that there was no tree in the corner or presents under it, or that Christmas dinner had been replaced with hot dogs today. What mattered was that the gift of Christmas lived on inside of me. What mattered was that God’s Love and Oneness filled my spirit not just on December 25th but every single day of my life.

Don’t put the gift of Christmas up on some shelf on December 26th . Unwrap it and carry it in your heart all through the year. Its spirit will warm your Winter, brighten your Spring, make your Summer more special, and put even more Awe in your Autumn. It will remind you of God’s unconditional love for you and help you to keep your own life focused on love as well. It will allow you to live everyday from your soul. And it will even allow you to sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" be it December, May, January, or June.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella Copyright © 2010 (joecool@wirefire.com) -- submitted by: Joseph Mazzella ]