Christmas letter by Libby

Christmas Night 2009

Merry Christmas!

This has been one of the best Christmas I have ever been a part of. I got everything I wanted and more. This was the last Christmas in a house that is made of bricks and mortar, possibly for a long time. For probably many years to come, we will be spending our Christmas' in a house on wheels. It was a very special day for me, as I love to treasure moments that I spend with my family, since I will be heading off to college, in a little over two years. As we all open our presents, the true meaning of Christmas slips away with the excitement of our new gifts. Yes, they are wonderful and we are blessed to live in a country where we have money that we can spend to bless our loved ones, but through all of the preparations for Christmas we get caught up in all of the holiday chaos and need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.



Some might ask, "what is the true meaning of Christmas? Isn't it about the presents, food, and spending time with our families?" The sad thing is, we are so spoiled by all of the material items we obtain during the holiday season, many forget the true meaning. We don't even stop to think about this very important day in history; the day our precious Savior was born. For the last, at least, ten years of our Christmas mornings, we celebrate the birth of our Savior by singing happy birthday to Jesus and eating cake, or for instance, this year, a blueberry coffee cake = ). We make it a point to celebrate Christ's birth before we are allowed to open our presents because we find ourselves, throughout the day, getting caught up in playing with our new toys and gadgets and totally blowing off the true meaning of Christmas.



Families celebrate Christmas in different ways. For my family, we start the day by celebrating Christ's birth through singing and cake, then we move on to opening our three presents, each one resembles the three presents Jesus was given. After that, we then move on to our oversized stockings. Eventually, my mom and I cook dinner. Before we eat, someone in our family, brings a plate to our elderly neighbor, who is in need of some neighborly love, then we eat our dinner and finish the day by playing with our gifts and spending time with one another. Hmmm....what happens here? We start our day out right by celebrating the true meaning of Christmas but then throughout the day, it becomes more about our material "gods" and we forget to celebrate His birth.



I am SO excited about the presents I got this Christmas. (actually, I am using one right now to write this little Christmas story = ).) But the reason I brought this up is because I was thinking this afternoon, that there are so many kids, or even some adults, who may not have had a gift to open this Christmas. It made me feel so selfish because I got so much this year. I thought I needed a laptop, a new Ipod, cell phone and camera so I could keep in touch with friends, or should I say, to keep in touch with the world. Its not a bad thing to be blessed and I am totally, without a doubt, enjoying my gifts, but I'm also sad for the kids who might not have had a visit from the notorious Santa Claus this year = ). But then I am reminded of these people whom the world would say have so little but actually, in most instances, these people are the ones who are truly blessed. Why do I say this? Because these wonderful souls are not poisoned by what the world would consider blessings, such as: computers, phones, mounds of clothing, more than one pair of shoes, amounts of food that would feed hundreds and lots of other unnecessary items. They may have the love of Jesus in their hearts which exceedingly amounts to way more than what the world thinks we need. Their Christmas's aren't about the toys....There about Jesus!



You see, these people are the ones whom have the advantages to further the kingdom of heaven. We are the ones who are going to have to work harder to serve our King because we have so much that may get in our way. So after this realization, I can happily say, even as a teen, that I am totally excited to be downsizing and moving into a house on wheels. We don't need all of this stuff and I can't wait to leave!


Love,

Libby