Strangers, marriage, K-Mart and Christmas

i am the kinda guy that does not follow the crowd. if it is popular, i tend to stay away from it, just because of its popularity. after all, who wants to be a sheep all the time.

kinda like that with Christmas celebration. i hear people who talk about christmas and what it has become. truth is, it has not become anything different than it has been for years. we just see it now...finally.

today, Sheri and i go to the local pharmacy for refills and such. standing there looking out the window, a man walks up. "30 years. that is how long my wife and i have been together. 2 kids grown, moved out and we have no decorations up. thinking about buying this Charlie brown tree, just to have some sense of holiday spirit."

me too, i respond. 27 years for me, both kids out and gone.

"conrats", he says..."so you made it too!" all this as he takes a small tree off the shelf and knocks down a display. Merry Christmas he says.

yea, i guess i have. made it.we are celebrating by chillin, eating, and laughing.

later, we pulled into K-Mart and while i am pulling into the parking lot, this older lady curses me. She is in the wrong. she cut me off. i sat there...smiled.

yea, we made it.

the meaning of christmas has been the debate of the masses for years. for me, a long time it was about regaining the thoughts of innocence of childhood, the wonder and magic of santa and gifts.
when kids came along, it became about creating that for them. when they had kids, the same thing.

now that we are here, and not with the kids or grandkids, it seems i am forced to deal with reality. and reality is that with the occasional dose of spirituality, most of my Christmases have been about what i can get, what i can give, and mostly being with those who i love. and for the life of me, that does not feel wrong.

Jesus never told us to remember his birth. but the birth of a baby like Jesus calls for celebration and remembrance.

so. i remember his birth, and remember it was because we are stained with sin (from David Ashcraft) that he was born, and it was the removing of that stain that he died.

from my family to yours, enjoy the celebration of the birth of Christ. but remember he grew up, and told us to remember his death.