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The promise of Christmas is a promise of love. Consider all the love that is shared at Christmastime: in the giving of heartfelt gifts, in a visit or phone call from a loved one, even in a simple “Merry Christmas” from a stranger passing on the street.
Some years ago, a group of friends were eating dinner together at Christmastime, bemoaning the busyness of the season. With exasperation and perhaps a little resentment, they spoke of hectic schedules and heavy burdens. After listening patiently, one wise, seasoned woman humbly offered her opinion. “I love Christmas,” she said. “It is the most joyful of all seasons. I love seeing the eyes of little children light up on Christmas morning. I love giving gifts. I love being with my family. We just need to simplify and remember what we are celebrating.” 1
This season of special holidays is all about giving. Young children are often most excited about what they might receive, but over time, we discover that real joy comes from giving—especially when we give with no thought of receiving anything in return. In fact, it might be said that such giving is the source of true happiness and captures the real spirit of the Christmas season.
What does Christmas mean to you? One couple learned something about the meaning of this special season several years ago when, the day after Christmas, their infant son passed away. Each year since that tragic event, they have placed a Christmas stocking by the fireplace in his memory.
This season of the year is a time of joyful anticipation. As summer’s heat gives way to fall’s vibrant colors, as planting and tending become reaping and harvesting, the season of thanks flows quite naturally into a season of generous giving.
Thanksgiving is a time of gathering. We gather together to enjoy a meal, to connect with loved ones, and to recognize and celebrate the good things in our lives. “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing.”1
At dawn on the morning of November 11, 1918, two railroad cars arrived in a remote forest outside Compiègne, France. One carried German military officers; the other, Allied commanders. They were gathering for a meeting that would make history. It was here that leaders of these two military forces signed an armistice—an agreement to end years of deadly conflict. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, World War I was over.
Recent events remind us that bad things happen to good people. Too often, senseless tragedies wrench our souls—whether the victims live in our own community or on the other side of the world.
Everyone has a gift. Some are blessed with athletic ability, empathy, problem-solving skills, artistic talent, a high IQ—the list goes on and on. And some people seem to have more than a few of these gifts.
Do you ever feel as if the world is spinning out of control? Hearing about tragedies and perils near and far can cause us to worry about how things will turn out. While there is solace in accepting things we cannot control, we also need to feel that there are some things we can control—that we determine, at least to some degree, the direction of our lives.
During one of the earliest performances of Peter Pan, the much-loved fantasy play for children, a small boy was invited to watch the production from the balcony. Afterwards he was asked what he liked best about the play. The pirates? The crocodile? Peter Pan flying through the air? The child’s response was surprising: “What I think I liked best was tearing up the program and dropping the bits on people’s heads.”
Too many people feel alone, figuratively wandering in the night. They search for purpose, meaning, and connection. They long to love and be loved, to help and be helped. Often their wandering is more desperate because they feel they don’t deserve love or help. Perhaps they’ve made poor choices or haven’t lived up to expectations—their own or others’.
Thomas Watson Sr. served for many years as the CEO of IBM and built the company into an international success. The story is told that during a business meeting in 1911, Watson became frustrated by the lack of good ideas being generated. “The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t think enough,” he declared. “Knowledge is the result of thought, and thought is the keynote of success in this business or any business.” Today, the word think adorns the walls of IBM buildings everywhere and remains at the heart of the company’s identity.
We’ve all heard the expression “light at the end of the tunnel.” But to anyone who has ever been completely engulfed in darkness, it’s more than just a nice saying. To them, a light at the end of the tunnel is a lifeline, a cherished spark of hope.
Not long ago, a middle-aged father took a vacation with his family. They toured historic sites and visited stunning natural wonders. Anxious to capture every moment of the trip, the father designated himself as the family photographer. Throughout the vacation he was consumed with taking photos. Later, as he looked at the photos and talked with his family, he was surprised to discover that he had actually missed many important moments of the trip. He had taken pictures of everything, but he had taken part in much less. Somehow his preoccupation with recording every moment prevented him from enjoying those moments—they had passed by him as he focused his lens elsewhere.
We all have our share of difficulty and tragedy in life. Some of us, in fact, seem to have more than our share. And then there are people who somehow, against all odds, survive multiple seemingly impossible situations.
Some years ago, a 17-year-old boy spent a long, hot summer doing landscape work. It was a hard, sweaty job—not the kind of thing most 17-year-old boys enjoy doing with their summer. He dug trenches, laid sod, spread rock and bark, planted trees and shrubs, and mowed and trimmed lawns. One by one, his friends who worked alongside him were worn out by the work and quit. It wasn’t their idea of summer vacation. But this young man stuck it out until summer’s end.
“Good fences make good neighbours,” remarks the surly neighbor in Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall.” Boundaries and borders, categories and classes seem to be an inescapable part of today’s world. We build fences to keep some things in and other things out—often with mixed results. Fences, both figurative and literal, can help and hurt, protect and hinder.
Life can be a roller coaster, with ups and downs, brief moments of calm, and then thrilling, sometimes scary bursts of speed. And what’s interesting about the roller coaster of life is that no two rides are ever the same. So it really does no good to compare our particular ride with someone else’s.
In the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the young girl Dorothy dreams she is carried away from her home by a terrifying tornado. She finds herself in a strange land with unfamiliar people and unexpected challenges. Frightened at first, Dorothy learns to adapt to her new environment and to love the companions who walk with her on the yellow brick road, helping her find her way back home. In the end, after a tearful goodbye to her new friends, Dorothy clicks the heels of her ruby red slippers and says three times, “There’s no place like home.” Then Dorothy awakens well and safe in her own bed.
We know that nobody is perfect—the evidence is all around us. It’s not hard to notice faults and errors in other people. But we are often less eager to admit our own faults, our own mistakes. It’s sometimes embarrassing, uncomfortable, even risky. Will others think less of us if we confess to being wrong?
Do you consider yourself a creative person? Whether or not we know how to paint, decorate, or compose music, in a sense we are all creators. We create our own future, day by day. Our life is our creation, and we make the kind of life we want. That doesn’t mean we can control every detail—we all face circumstances we would never choose—but if our minds and hearts are open, we will be given opportunities to step up to the challenges we face and make something of ourselves.
The Choir and Orchestra have performed the music of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein—two American artists and pioneers of musical theater.
Without question, the year 1929 was a memorable one. During that year, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began, a German airship circled the globe in record time, and the Academy Awards were presented for the first time.
Former U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush has been quoted as saying, “If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather than dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.”
Sometimes life’s most difficult problems can be solved in the most unexpected ways. In fact, even when a situation seems downright hopeless, a little resourcefulness and ingenuity can lead to surprising solutions.
In 1872, United States President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill designating Yellowstone as America’s first national park. In fact, it was the first national park in the world. More than that, it was the birth of a new idea—the preservation of a natural site of notable beauty and importance. The idea caught on, and over the next 44 years, another 34 national parks and monuments, along with an agency to maintain them, were created. Here at Yellowstone National Park, we celebrate what author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner called “the best idea [America] ever had.”
Most fathers know that fatherhood can be the source of life’s greatest joy and its deepest satisfaction. Of course, they also know that no work demands more of their energy or more of their heart. It takes time and effort to do fatherhood well.
Have you ever noticed how plants bend toward the sun? Whether it’s trees in a forest, flowers in a garden, or a potted plant in your window sill, most plants tend to grow in the direction of the sunlight that gives them life. Botanists call this heliotropism, but it’s really much simpler than it sounds. Plainly stated, most living things prefer light over darkness.
For many years, modern airplanes have been equipped with a feature called “autopilot.” When a plane is flying on autopilot, its direction and altitude are controlled automatically, without the pilot needing to constantly control its every move.