My Friends and Family, this time of year is the most special to me, and yet I try and live every day in the same manner. I know life is tough; I know it can be difficult at times, but still as yet, there is a lot of room for Happiness and Joy…in Jesus Christ!
I know that I have written many an article about past Thanksgivings and Christmases, remembering how things were when my Mom and Dad were still around. I wrote about our Festivities and our small feasts, many in this world would never know of. Still as yet, my Parents had little money, but we were Blessed to have these times together and know the Joy for all my years to come. It is always a Blessing to be able to write of those times once again, hopefully to enlighten others, to help raise their Hopes and Dreams, just as they do for me.
One of the things that I KNOW is this: Life is tough, work is hard and Family time is scarce, for most. As yet, with the Lord Jesus Christ in your life, these small moments can be wonderful…if you are willing.
I know how things are. When I was working in the Medical Field, I knew 8-whenever days, 10-day stretches at a time, working and thinking till there was almost nothing left. Ya see, people never stop getting sick just because it’s the Holidays. As a matter of fact, the sicknesses usually get worse during the Holidays – too much food, too much drinking, sad people with no future, and the list goes on. You get my point, right?
As I look back on my life, I have known times like that, sad almost to the point of being disabled. When I was overseas, Christmas time was the worst to deal with. There was always the same old Christmas music as when I was a kid, the songs that I loved as a kid, but that was back then. I sat in the Chow hall and watched grown men tear up and cry, when “I’ll be Home for Christmas” was played. My Own heart sinking, my own eyes watering up! “Why is Life so hard?” was screaming in my head! But I did not know Jesus Christ back then; the prospect of seeing tomorrow was not there!
It was so hot and humid that the Christmas feeling was non-existent! Other times, the Rain would be pouring, coming down in sheets so hard you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face! SO I did what every other guy did; I would push all those feelings I was having as far down in my heart as I knew! “Don’t think about it; don’t remember!” was the theme of the day! How sad is that? So yes, I know how tough this life CAN be. Again, I did not know my Lord and Savior back then. Today, I wonder how different I would have been had I known Jesus Christ in those days? What about YOU?
Do you have any idea of how wonderful a glass of cold whole milk is when you never get any? They tried to make those times better: reconstituted Turkey and Mashed potatoes and dressing, but no milk. As a matter of fact, there was little that was NOT reconstituted in some fashion, and it usually tasted horrible. Still as yet, it was that…or nothing…so you ate it and tried not to remember. No one to hug and to Love, no caring…only fighting to see this afternoon, and you never tried to imagine seeing tomorrow morning…it might not happen at all!
So, as we sit down to Thanksgiving and Christmas…PLEASE remember those that are in the Military, living each and every day…somewhere far, far away – probably missing all the wonderful smells of home, the joy of being together with Family, laughing and joking. Trust me; it brings grown men to Tears!
Today, I am healthy and I thank the Lord for that! I am back home and I have buried my weapons of war! I want the Love of Family…I need that Love again and again. I have the chance to make these Holidays special and Bright for my Family…that the Lord Blessed me with, and that is what I am going to do…PRAISE THE LORD.
Please don’t forget all the Older people in Nursing homes everywhere; they do indeed miss all those times with Family and Friends. Remember those working in Hospitals, Policemen and Firemen, all that are still working the Holidays…For you and me. You cannot give of yourself enough! Take the time and give to those that will otherwise…have no Christmas or Thanksgiving. What’s it going to cost you? A little time, a little effort? Ya think?
We all have memories, thoughts of yesteryear, how everything USED to be and probably could be again…if there was someone that could help. The Lord Jesus Christ told us to “LOVE ONE ANOTHER…AS HE LOVES US.” It should be an everyday thing to do nowadays, but I digress.
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
We watch the “Christmas Carol” (with Sir Reginald Owen, 1937) movie every year, and it shows how people truly are. Do they show love for one another, the same as Jesus Asked us to do? Not for all, that is for sure, But…it does show that there is redemption…only through Jesus Christ….the Reason for the Holidays. It is sad that the movie does not prove this out, though it should! Such was the world back then and today. Still as yet, must everything remain the same? Must there be people without hope, of Christmas and Thanksgiving, or of Jesus Christ in their lives? Absolutely NOT. That, my Friends, is our responsibility to provide for them! In over 2,400 years, it is still the same…Jesus Christ FIRST.
I am home…finally! I am older now, retired with my wonderful Wife as well. My kids live next door, along with my Grandsons…so I AM BLESSED OF THE LORD. Still as yet, the world continues to fall apart, as we live in “the End of Times!” The question now is, what should we be doing as we wait on our Lord and Savior to return? Exactly what the Lord said above, “Love one another!”
Are we Blessed above all others? Yes…if you belong to Jesus Christ! So, if we Bless others, will the Lord Bless you and me…you KNOW HE WILL. HIS Holy Word tells us that!
I am going to get a Christmas tree this year, and we are going to have a Feast on Thanksgiving and on Christmas, and we are going to bring others to Jesus Christ! We are going to live as our Lord and Savior has asked us to, and we are going to do so with all the Love in our Hearts that we can muster! We will have all the smells of the season, all the JOY of the Holidays, and we are going to share everything the Lord God has Blessed us with! Absolutely…Joy to the World…The King is coming!
The Christmas that we enjoy was about the Birth of our Lord and Savior! One day…REAL SOON…we will enjoy the Coming of our Lord and Savior in the Rapture. That day, the Wedding of Jesus Christ with HIS Church… is super close! Once again, we will have everything in Jesus Christ…to enjoy. I can hardly wait to see my Mom and Dad and the rest of my Family Members, my Wife’s Mom and Dad and her Brother…once again. My Friends, that will only happen when you and your Family Belong to Jesus Christ. There is NO other way. The Holy Word of God…says so…Think about that!
We used to joke a little that one day in Heaven we will sit with each other and enjoy a cup of coffee together. I have no idea of whether that will be possible or not. Suffice to say we will be together with Jesus Christ…and for me…that will indeed be ENOUGH.
Can you imagine for a moment to be able to rest your head on the chest of Jesus Christ, to give a well-deserved sigh of relief…for Eternity? My Heart will explode with Love for HIM. I will sink to the ground before HIM and thank HIM for absolutely everything…I will HONOR HIM in every way I could ever know! HE is my Lord of lords and my King of kings…forever and ever!
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to each of you!
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“
All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible.