The day after I wrote my last post about not "feeling" the Christmas spirit, something cool happened. I love it when God does stuff like this. Below is the short version.A friend of mine from High School called me. He has been back in town for a few months and is homeless. I have been staying in touch and helping him as I can. He called to tell me that his bus pass had expired and he needed money to replace it immediately. You see, when you are homeless, you typically have no transportation either, so you have to depend on public transportation to get you to doctor's appointments, shelters, job interviews, etc.
As soon as I finished my breakfast with my family, I went to meet my friend. We drove to the bus station, got a pass, went on another errand, and just hung out for a while. When I left him I had an epiphany of sorts ("like a bolt of lightning struck me right in me brain" from the movie "Hook").
God very vividly helped me remember that Christmas is not about me, it is about others. When I quit thinking about myself and my feelings and began focusing on others and their feelings and needs, I got it. The Christmas spirit came rushing in. I have to say that, in spite of some very bad news I got that day too, I had one of the best days I have ever had. Not that anything really special happened the rest of the day or that I got to do anything amazing. I just knew that I had done what I was placed on this planet to do. I got to serve someone else and that made all the difference.
So What?
If you are looking for a "feeling" or trying to manufacture the Christmas spirit in your life, go serve someone. You will experience God's presence, power, and love like never before. Christmas is all about God serving us by sending Jesus to us. It only makes sense that we should serve others by taking Jesus to them. The shepherds got that. Check it out in Luke 2:8-20. They couldn't keep what they found to themselves.
Another thing to keep in mind. This serving others deal is not just a seasonal event. Make it a lifestyle. Then you and I won't have to worry about not "feeling" the Christmas spirit.
BTW...I'll be talking about the Shepherds and their Search this Sunday at Midtowne.
3 comments:
Good stuff Doug! I agree. What would happen if we all had that mindset? One might say you could turn the world upside down...kinda like Jesus did. Hmmm.
Kinda like Jesus...imagine that :)
Thanks Mark for making it happen with me.
Merry Christmas.
I love Christmas!! It's the season of miracles. The good thing is they are EVERYWHERE around us during this time of year! We just have to look for them.
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