A Different Kind of Christmas

This Christmas will definitely be different than any we’ve had before. We can still make it special though. Sometimes the most unusual Christmases are the most memorable.

Let me admit something. I am not a Christmas person. I’m somewhat of a Scrooge. I start dreading Christmas sometime during the summer. I’m bothered by the fact that the meaning has been lost and all concerns seem to be “What can I get or give for Christmas.”

My husband and I disagree more, during this time of year, than any other. Not for the usual reasons of spending too much money but because we can’t find the perfect gift on which to spend. Early on my husband begins saying, “We need to talk about what we are going to do about Christmas this year.” It sends cold chills over my body. To me, those are the most dreaded words in the English language. I ignore them the first few times he utters them, but eventually the confrontation occurs.

You see, my husband and I are different creatures. He is analytical and, true to his nature, Christmas consists of setting a budget (his budget is much more generous than mine) and making a list and checking it twice. He likes to wander to the mall to Christmas shop. I’d rather you put bamboo shoots under my nails, tie my feet together and throw me from a river bridge than venture there.

Finally, the time will arrive when I can’t ignore him any longer. Christmas is getting nearer and then he says, “I’ve tried not to be confrontational, but what are “you” going to get everyone for Christmas.” There! Proof again that Santa Claus is a woman. Would there ever be a Christmas if men had to send out cards, decorate, buy presents, wrap presents, plan and prepare meals and parties, etc? Of course not. The myth of the jolly fat man has been a conspiracy against the real Santa, unquestionably a woman.

A few years ago, a few days before Christmas the whole season changed for us. My Grandmother died. She meant the world to us. This wonderful lady was one week shy of her 102nd birthday. She was the stabilizer of our family. The one whose love had no boundaries. Of the 120+ children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, we each thought that we were her favorite. No doubt we were.

A few months before she died, she told me that she was ready to go. I wasn’t ready to let her go, of course, and I realize that my reasons were all selfish. I just knew that I would miss her too much. I told her so. She understood.

I remember every day the many things that Grandma taught us. She taught us that the most important thing in your life is your family. Long after your career has ceased and your friends no longer are there for you, your family is the only thing in your life on which you can truly count. She made us promise to continue getting together for our annual family reunion even after she was gone.

She taught us unselfishness by her example. Never a woman of means, she always wanted to share her meager possessions with others. There was never a selfish bone in her body and her meek generosity was contagious to us all.

She taught us to be thankful for our blessings (and we have many). I never heard her whine or complain. I know that at 102, her body ached and she was tired, but she never told us about it. Daily she was simply thankful for her family and that her mind was still sharp even though her body was beginning to betray her.

She taught us faith in God and that all things are possible for those who believe. Her faith and her prayers were a tremendous inspiration to those who knew and loved her. She never preached to us —- just prayed for us.

She taught us that “there is some bad in the best of us and some good in the worst of us” and that we should always look for the “good” in everyone. (I jokingly told her that I knew some people she never met.) She refused to be critical but pointed out the “good” in everyone. I believe that was all that she ever saw.

Christmas was a special time for Grandma. She loved it for all the right reasons. She loved to get together with large groups of family members. This year she couldn’t have planned better. Family members came from all over. We didn’t mourn her death, we celebrated her life.

I kept thinking that she planned it this way and she would have loved it ___ all of us together at Christmas. For years, I had planned to have a Christmas party and invite all the family but never got around to it. It was just like Grandma, to inspire me to do something that I would never get around to otherwise. I remember her, especially this time of year.

I will never again take for granted the meaning of Christmas. Every Christmas from this time forward, I will always celebrate the life of the two people, who have had more impact on my life than any other, my Lord and my Grandmother. Merry Christmas.