Spirit of Christmas

I do not think of myself as a musical person. I can't sing particularly well, can't pick out the intricacies of the music, and don't really play any instruments. But music has always been something that touches me. I have strong memories associated with a lot of different songs, and even a new song can touch me and immediately cause me to think about certain things.

This time of year, this means that our church Christmas program is one of my favorite celebrations of the season. There's a lot of beautiful music and I always end up feeling the true spirit of Christmas, remembering that the first Christmas gift came when a little baby was born a long time ago. This Sunday proved to be no exception.

We had a few very talented people sing for us as well as the children which is special in it's own way. One woman in our congregation has the most amazing voice and brought me to tears as I listened to her sing The First Noel. What had been a hectic morning where I lost my cool trying to get the kids out the door on time for church turned into a peaceful reminder of what is truly important (and making it to church on time at the expense of my kids feelings isn't).

The feeling followed me through much of the day, as I shared the symbolism of Christmas with the 8 year olds I teach at church (and they actually listened!), as I celebrated winter solstice with my family, as we watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas and listened to Christmas music, and then later, as Steve and I introduced one of our favorite movies of all time to our oldest child, It's a Wonderful Life.

I'm glad that I can be reminded each year, that along with all the parties, crafts and searching for the perfect gifts, Christmas is about something else, too. From the words of How The Grinch Stole Christmas: He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more.