Merry Christmas to All!

As I take a few quick minutes away from the Christmas celebrations with my family today to wish you all a very merry Christmas, I wanted to pass along a couple of quick reflections and thoughts on the holidays. Growing up, there were near constant family get-togethers, reunions, parties, and events, and I can remember getting sick and tired of my forced attendance. To me, it never seemed all that important, or all of that pressing of a need, to see and fellowship with my relatives on a weekly basis. Then, I was still in the mind that my parents had no clue what they were doing, and, after all, you pick your friends because you cannot choose one's family, right? It got to the point during my high school years that, when possible, I would try to work during these family events or be busy with something else, like we all often do.

Now that I have moved away from any of my family, and have the opportunity to see them much less often, I have realized just what my parents had in mind. You see, I have begun to understand, in all of the profound wisdom of my twenty years, that family is indeed essential to our well-being. Friends are there for a season, and most will move on at some point, but family is in it for the long-haul. When the chance to spend time with our relatives comes along, now but two or three times each year, we should jump at it. Family is not there just to recollect and reminisce alongside, or to watch terribly awful home movies with, but to lean on and rely on in time of need. Time spent with family serves to keep us focused, and grounded, and to remind us just what it is we come from and where we are going.

So, I do hope that you have an excellent day today, and a great Christmas, but in all of that, I ask that you simply appreciate those you spend your day with. We too often take them for granted until they are gone, so cherish this time that you have with them. God bless you and yours, and have a very merry Christmas!