The absolute best time of year. Period. I absolutely love Christmas for many reasons. One being my wife’s birthday. Yep, for those who didn’t know, she was born on Christmas Day… Eh hem… Some odd number of years ago. Well, actually an even number.
One of my goals is to make her birthday amazing each year. Some years I succeed very well, others not so much. But the special nature of a Christmas birthday coupled with the celebration of the birth of love… Awesome!
Christ came down to a dark world. Sometimes we fail to see it for what it was, but if we look at historical references and biblical truths, we can see a world full of hate and suffering. Christ was a light in the midst of this horror, and you cannot argue what he has done for the world. Christian or otherwise, His legacy of Love lives, for 2000 years it has lived. What a joy to be able to celebrate that.
So. Given the most amazing story of love in all of history, of all time… it would seem that this time of year would be the easiest, best, most simple and relaxed time. Celebrating love. Nothing else, just pure love. How else would we want to celebrate the Christmas season?
Yet, here I find myself finally completing this post, which began on Friday, then followed in an absolute flurry of activity for the weekend. Painful activity. We served at the Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Waleska on Saturday morning. And I must honestly say it was probably the most enjoyable three hours of my weekend, by far. Everything else was stress and pain. My family upset with me because I seemingly have a short fuse right now. (notice the “seemingly”… you know, how you don’t see your own fault even when everybody else does) I blame this on my tooth, which I had a root canal on last Tuesday, which went from a pain free tooth, to a PAIN RICH tooth in the last five days. Perhaps a problem perhaps not… we’ll give it a few more days, but it does remind me of how much I hate the lack of certainty in healthcare (chiropractic not excluded). The body is unique. But, this is not my point.
My point is that this season is designed to be a celebration of the most amazing gifts. Become a scholar… I’m not, but in the study of history, it is plain to see that this world was not a world of love before the birth of Christ. I honestly do not believe that families could exist with any level of harmony that we exist today. And we think our lives are horribly distraught for the most part… and that is with nobody hunting our daughters, or stealing our sons for war. How could it be so bad today without those situations? We might actually have it made… thanks to Christ.
So. Stop in this moment, and regardless of your belief. Be thankful for those whom you love, be thankful for those who sit across from you who you might not even know. Get right with the world around you so that you can be right with the God above you. I am going to take my tooth pain in stride with the knowledge that it is fleeting, even if it lasts a month… that is nothing in the scheme of life. My family deserves so much more this time of year. And so do you… and so does yours.
Be stress free, be blessed and be well. – Dr. E