Christmas 2008
A while back, a friend asked me if I was excited for Christmas. Excited for Christmas? For adults, isn’t the question usually, “Are you ready for Christmas?” After all, getting excited for Christmas is generally the arena of the young. Kids get excited for it. Adults get ready for it. Once you cross the threshold of receiving Christmas to providing it the excitement dies. At least it had for me.
It should be no secret that my family’s existence over the past few years has been financially unstable. This year has been the worst, as terms like default, repossession, you’re fired and foreclosure have made frequent appearances in our vocabulary. The stress has impacted my relationship with my wife and the repercussions have been felt by my children, one of whom broke down in tears because Mom and Dad never used to fight.
So, no, I wasn’t excited for Christmas when my friend asked. However, I have thought about that question every day since it was asked. I have followed it up with one of my own. Why? Why was I not excited for Christmas, a time my character in A Christmas Carol calls, “The happiest time of all the year.” It may sound trite and even a little cliche, but my criteria for what makes Christmas something to be excited for was askew.
As this year has come to a close, many blessings have presented themselves to my family. Two separate groups have stepped forward to help provide a better Christmas for my family. Help was not asked for, but they gave it anyway. How humbling it is to receive help of this kind. What can we say other than thank you? The fact that these people made such an effort to think about others is just astonishing, especially during this time when we are all feeling the economic crush. You won’t read this, but I thank you.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my parents. They have been the official sponsors of Santa Claus for years. Without the help we have received from them every year, the Santa part of Christmas would have never happened.
Also, God has answered my prayers by leading me to a new career opportunity that will help my family immensely in the years to come. I start my new job with the new year and hope it will truly be a new and different and blessed year for my family. Thanks also go to a friend who helped me every step of the way during the hiring process.
So, as I have pondered being excited for Christmas, I would like to change my answer. I am excited for Christmas. I am excited for a Christmas that has shown me that God hears and answers prayers. I am excited for a Christmas that has shown me that truly good, decent, Christ-like people still exist in the world. I am excited for a Christmas that has given me hope for the first time in a long time.
Merry Christmas David! I hope it’s a magical one for not only the kids, but for you and Jami too! I think about you guys more than you know and you are frequently included in my prayers. It is an awesome thing to have prayers answered. I’m so happy for all of you!
Love ya!
This is a very beautiful post. I love you more than you’ll ever know.
Dave:
What a great heartfelt post. It is always good when something like this can help us do a little soul-searching and come out the better for it.
Drama Mama told me about the new career opportunities, and I am really happy for you. Sometimes words like “you’re fired” turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I have seen several friends over the years land a much better job right after hearing those or similar words.
I would have loved to have seen you in the “The Christmas Carol”. We recently had a Stake Priesthood meeting where a line from the story was mentioned. It just happened to be in the segment you are in. Here is the exchange:
“And how did little Tim behave?” asked Mrs Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity, and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart’s content.
“As good as gold,” said Bob, “and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”
I have watched a couple movie version since, and that section has really stood out for me.
Merry Christmas!