What Chrismas Means To Me

Well it is December 20Th, only 5 more days until Christmas, or as the retailers would put it;
"Only 4 shopping days left until Christmas!"
Is that really what we want Christmas to mean? Is that the memory we want our children to have when they are grown?
Christmas....We all know what the true meaning of Christmas is suppose to be, and is; The supposed date for the birth of our beloved Saviour, Jesus Christ. That is what it should be and it is in my heart of heart's, but Christmas has become so many more things to us too.
Christmas is the time when we show our loved ones how much we care, a time to spend special time with family and friend's, to eat special goodies that are made with love and care.

So what has happened to what Christmas is supposed to be? We tell our children what they are supposed to feel about Christmas, that it is better to give than receive. Then we turn around and spend hundred's, sometimes thousand's of dollars on toy's and electronics that they will play with for a week and throw in a corner and forget. In the mean time, children all over the world go to bed hungry at night.
Oh I am not judging fr I am just as guilty as anyone else. I am like every other parent, I want my children to have the latest gadgets and gizmo's, I want them to be happy and "Love me", cause I am the coolest thing since marshmallows, when I buy them what they want, or what they think they want.
So I am asking myself this early morning; "what does Christmas mean to me?" Not what everyone tells me it is suppose to mean, not what I tell my children it is supposed to mean, but what does Christmas mean, in my heart of hearts?
Christmas, is a song that sings of a future, where all are equal, no one lacks food, or clothing, there are no tears from the loss of a loved one to cancer, or aids. It is the promise of a future for our children that is filled with love and forgiveness for our brothers and sisters that are bound to us by this thing called humanity. Christmas to me is hoping there will be no more war, but knowing there will be, so the hope turns to peace, so that our men and women serving in the Middle East will be able to come home quickly and be with their families, that the escalating war in Afghanistan will be stopped, so no more innocent lives will be lost.
Most of all Christmas to me is the joy of seeing a family together. The smile on my child's face, when she sees the Christmas lights lit on all the houses and trees, in that smile of a seven year old is pure innocence, it can't be bought, sold or traded, and it is all mine for a few more years.
So in this season of giving and sharing, think of the things that really matter to you. Not what can be bought in a store, not money, or even gold. Let our mind's go back to the innocence of when you were seven, think of the thrill you felt when you saw the light's, when you sat on Santa's lap, the first snow flakes of the year falling, your Mother and Dad's unconditional love.
Talk to my heart. What does Christmas really mean to you?