Oh, the holidays.  Everywhere you look, there's the hustle and bustle of crowds shopping in the mall.  There is the twinkling of lights and the smell of homemade goodies baking in the oven.  Our psyches are inundated with wrapping paper, bright bows and animated television specials.  Oh, yes, the holidays.

 

Personally, I'm not really into all of the holiday hype and festivities.  It seems that as my daughter outgrew Santa, I began to prefer the quiet stillness of "chestnuts roasting" as opposed to the deafening din of "bells jingling."  Maybe it's age, or the fact that I've spent this entire year battling cancer, but this year there is a gentle comfort in Emmanuel, God with Us.  This year I think I'll embrace a perspective that embodies the heart of the One whose birth we celebrate.  Hmmm...? A new, quiet approach to the holidays could be a novel idea.

 

Not to sound like Scrooge, but perhaps this could be the holiday season where instead of trimming huge trees, why not light a single candle in honor of a fallen soldier whose name you may not even know.  What if those homemade sprinkle cookies anonymously found their way to a nearby group home?  Or try a new hairstyle and then donate a few strands to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for chemotherapy patients.  That's right, a quiet, gentle holiday season, where you smile at the stressed out sales clerk or share a warm cup of coffee with a the homeless guy you pass on the street.  This year, instead of endless holiday parties, try curling up with someone you love, hot cocoa, and a sappy movie. 

 

A new, quiet approach to the holidays, now there's a novel idea.

 

Blessings of the season,

 

Rev. Marsha