Christmas From The Heart

By Susan M. Thigpen © 1983-2012

Issue: December, 1983

Take the time, set it apart and think for a few minutes about what the things are, that really matter about Christmas. What are your priorities? Are you enjoying the season or are you tired, overworked and feeling pushed? If you are giving presents because you feel like you have to instead of wanting to, it can’t be right. If you’re wracking your brain trying to figure out what to get someone who has everything, you’re wasting time. Try donating the money you would have spent for a gift that might be meaningless - to a worthwhile cause in their name. The money will be put to a much better use.

Christmas is nothing if it is not love, if it is not from the heart; whether it is just among your immediate family and friends or a gift of your time or money to total strangers who will never know who the help they received came from.

Christmas is not just love, but selfless love and sharing. It is not the brightly colored paper that is tossed aside and forgotten moments after a gift is unwrapped. The real gifts of Christmas are the ones that are a part of you. Unfortunately, a lot of people consider that too much to give. Christmas is celebrated one day a year but Christmas really is a symbol that should be a way of life all year long. Take time to think of what is of true value and worth and put more meaning into not only the Christmas season but your whole life.

Stick a plate of cookies into the mailbox to let the mailman know you appreciate him all year round or go to a nursing home and just visit and get to know someone who has no family to share their lives with. Let people, not tinsel, be the source of your Christmas joy. Celebrate Christmas in your heart.