Merry Christmas

. . . and Happy Hannukah.

Regardless of the pagan roots of some of the pomp and circumstance that is associated with this holiday, this is a great time to be with family and friends and to reflect on the Incarnation. I actually prefer the historical accuracy of the Festival of Lights, but I find it more than a coincidence that celebrating the coming of LIGHT is celebrated by Hebrews and Goyim at almost the same time.

Pretty cool.

I'll get back to ranting after the weekend.

For now, I just want to revel in the fact that I married into an incredibly loving family. I don't think it's just luck that an orphan from a terribly abusive childhood married into a family that deeply believes in trying, no matter how imperfectly, living by the teachings of Christ. God knows, I don't deserve near the forgiveness and love that these people have shown me for nearly 20 years. My in-laws (such an inappropriately cold term) have come to my aid in crises and difficulties and have overlooked my selfish moments to amazing lengths.

My "blood" relatives, save two, have never expressed a single concern whether I was alive or dead. And the "two" were so abused by my real mother, that I can't blame them for the distance they must feel for me.

But I digress. The important thing is here and now. I will spend Christmas Day surrounded by people I love and who love me. And when the Mrs. and I come home late in the day, I'm going to play my "It's A Wonderful Life" DVD and laugh and cry. I'm going to remember that people with good hearts and good intentions want so much to make tremendous contributions to humanity, that they often can't see how their day to day existence makes eternal impacts on the lives of those around them.

If you can find "It's A Wonderful Life" on your TV set in the next 48 hours, watch it. And think hard about the fact that we may never fulfill all of our dreams, but along the way, the effect we have on other people's lives may be more than we can imagine.

I say think HARD, because Karl Marx was a spoiled, aristocratic college student who thought that his ideas would liberate the working class. His ideas resulted in the deaths of over 150 million people. Mother Teresa was humble beyond description and we can't count how many lives she saved.

Whoever you are, I wish you the best. In the spirit of that Christmas event in World War One, when Germans and Englishmen ceased fire and crossed lines to celebrate Christmas, I express the same sentiment to you. I don't know who you are, but because God Himself came down to Earth to live among us and pay the ultimate price to redeem us, I humbly bow to the greatest act of love and selflessness ever recorded, and say, I love you.

There are plenty of jaded and calloused people out there, who no doubt have departed this post by now, but that's okay. Hope springs eternal. Especially in the heart of someone like me who has seriously contemplated suicide on too many occasions. But I've seen God at work in too many lives to discount him. You skeptics can snicker all you want, but I've seen things that can't be put in a mass spectrometer. Human relationships can't be shoved into a test tube and subjected to litmus paper.

Whatever your level of understanding of physics or truth, have a Merry Christmas. If you're an atheist or agnostic or whatever, just rejoice in the people you love and care about and enjoy this time.

Comments

[Ms Anna]

I sincerely thank you for the time and thought you put into your entry. As it's now past midnight, 12:31 a.m. EST, I can safely say, that you have already had a positive effect upon my Christmas Day.

We have many events to thank our Lord for. I thank him, now, for your continued presence in our lives.

[Francis W. Porretto]

Merry Christmas, Commander Will! May all the joy of this most joyous of seasons be yours.

"For unto us a child is born..."