This time of year always brings back memories of Christmases past. I think of the cold Colorado Christmases when we received new pajamas every Christmas eve and the standard photos that followed by the tree.
I remember simplicity, the basics and a comfortable contentment. You know, the good ol’ days when we walked uphill both ways to school and dined on Hamburger Helper. 🙂
We never knew how needy we were. We didn’t have instant access to the latest events on the other side of the world, and we couldn’t receive items we just ordered online at our doorstep. Every year we would wait for the Sear’s catalogue and excitedly turned each page. Even though we had few belongings, we literally got one thing (besides the jammies) for Christmas. And that one thing was a dream come true, that kept us busy all Christmas day and beyond. We didn’t feel the need to post photos of our gifts, the dinner or the goofy antics of our neighbor’s cat. The thing was, we were happy, satisfied and surprisingly content. Imagine that. Despite the heavy burdens my family carried we weren’t anxious or fearful. We prayed the family Rosary nightly and went to Mass on Sunday’s. We knew God loved us and we trusted Him implicitly.
I think about the days past when our sweet babies were filled with joy and how their sleepy little faces would light up Christmas morning. Now they are parents themselves playing Santa and watching the contagious joy of their own broods.
So, on this Christmas Eve, 2023, as I do everything in my power to stay awake for midnight Mass, (and nothing is working), let me be the first to wish you every good and peaceful blessing of this glorious season. If you are quiet enough you may just hear the angelic host praising God. Find a moment this day and count your blessings. With ever grateful hearts, despite the struggles and heavy loads, let us thank God. For he is making saints of us and those very things most heavy, are a gift in disguise, as He prepares us for eternal life in paradise.
A very Merry and abundantly blessed Christmas to you and yours. Spread some of His love and joy this season and every day after. Our brothers and sisters out there, are desperately in need of our witness and love.
“I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10
Dear Barbara,
Loved what you shared for Christmas. This is a good reminder of our lives and how we need to constantly appreciate every things and moments.
As you growing up, I did not have much either but Christmas time was always and still is the best time of the year for year for me and my family.
I thank God every day for every blessing in mine and my family’s life.
As I have no family here in Arizona, I thank God for my wonderful friends here. Barbara, you are a very special person and I’m very grateful to know you.
Thank you God for giving you the gifts of writing and sharing with us.
God bless you and family on this glorious day.
Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 ❤️
Gisele, thank you for your beautiful sharing. I hold our friendship very dear to my heart as well. So many years ago we met as you helped me decipher all the French descriptions for chocolate😉 love ya girl. Merry Christmas 🎄
Hi Barb!
Thank you for sharing your precious memories. It reminds me that I’m very grateful for having been raised in a working-class neighborhood in Chicago in a 900 sq ft flat where I had a fantastic childhood. We walked a mile both ways to a Polish Catholic school, in the rain and bitter winter winds. I had no exposure to differences between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. We had enough and spent a lot of time together in simple activities. We did our own housework and had yardwork chores. And oh, the freedom we had to wander around the neighborhood with our friends and our imaginations, without the dark cloud of ‘stranger-danger’ fear hanging over us. I’m grateful that when later I was exposed to the material differences between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, I knew the truth that the value of a person and personal happiness was not material things. Even when I started to dip my toes in the material world, I knew it was a false, empty pursuit. I’m grateful for that awareness.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you so much for sharing Diane. I’ve found that the hard stuff helps make us more grounded and compassionate. We realize that stuff is stuff and enough is enough. Material things don’t make us happy, it’s just more things to dust and worry about keeping up😊
Blessings to you this Christmas season, and thank you again for sharing some of your story that has made you the woman I greatly admire.