The Gift of Christmas

There is a story behind this goofy picture of me with this sad, sad snowman. It's a Texas snowman, they have lots of grass mixed in with the snow. The story relates to the coat I'm wearing.

I found this coat in my Mamaw's guest room closet when I was a junior in high school and I fell in love with it. She, of course, gave it to me freely. For whatever reason, I thought this coat was really cool and I wore it until it started to fall apart. I loved knowing that it had been hers before it was mine.

Christmas Eve 1997 was Mamaw's funeral. I don't share this to put a damper on the holiday. Every year as I remember her, I feel like I focus a little more on the gift of Christmas. Richard Paul Evans described it well in The Christmas Box through the words of his character Mary as she wrote to her lost child, "And in this there is hope, my love. Hope of embracing you again...And this because of the great gift of Christmas. Because He came. The first Christmas offering from a parent to His children, because He loved them and wanted them back."

Almost everyone I know has lost someone. I'm grateful that intertwined in the meaning of this holiday all about being with family is the greater message that we can be with all of our loved ones again some day. There is joy in the present, and hope for joy in the future which I'm grateful for.