Are You Ready For Christmas?

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog, so I thought I'd get back into the habit. Are you ready for Christmas? It's almost here, once again. The sights, the sounds, the smells - all remind us that Christmas is near. 
I remember when I was a little boy, people asking me "are you ready for Christmas?" They were meaning, of course, was I ready to receive all the presents that awaited me. I would always answer "yes!" because I just couldn't wait to see what Old Saint Nick would bring me. I remember one Christmas Eve in particular. My parents and I had gone to the home of my grandparents to celebrate Christmas with them that day. It was pretty late when we made the long 40 mile trip back home to Hartselle, Alabama that evening. It was dark. I remember my Daddy said he would go inside the house while Mother and I waited outside, just in case Santa was there at that very moment delivering presents. I remember being nervous, a little scared, and a lot excited at the possibility. After a few minutes, my Daddy came to the door and said "Santa's been here and I think we just missed him!" We rushed inside and, sure enough, under the Christmas tree was the empty glass of milk that I had left Santa, and the milk had just been consumed because there were milk stains inside the glass! Santa couldn't have been gone but just a few minutes! And we missed him! But I guess that's what is supposed to happen, for little kids are not supposed to see Santa when he comes to their house...just at the shopping malls (all of them).
Was I ready for Christmas that year! There were presents under the tree and I wasted no time in opening them! I was ready. Boy, was I ready. I'm ready this year, too. Maybe not for Santa like years ago, but in a different way. The prophet Isaiah said "prepare the way of the Lord." His way was prepared many years ago by John the Baptizer. But we still need to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord. The season of Advent reminds us to wait - to prepare - to look forward to the Lord's coming. At this holy time of year, let us remember to look back to Bethlehem at the babe who came to Earth. And let us look forward, with joyful expectation, to His coming again. Jesus is coming again, and soon. Don't let the busy-ness of this time of year take your eyes off the real reason for the season.
Are you ready for Christmas?

All Saints Day

Speaking with some friends recently who lost their Daddy a few months ago, one of them said, "will it ever get any better?" I replied with a statement another friend told me after my own Daddy had passed away: "I'm not sure it will ever get better; it just gets farther apart." While the English might not be correct in that statement, the statement has a profound truth. Does the hurt from our separation of our loved ones ever get better? Yes and no. There will always be a "hole" in our hearts; a broken chain in the family circle; an empty chair at the table. But time does heal old wounds, to some extent. The pain and hurt do seem to get "farther apart" as time goes on. So today, if you're hurting from the pain of losing someone close, remember the good times. Remember the laughter. And remember, dear one, that your loved one is safe in the hands of a merciful and loving God.

On this beautiful All Saints Day 2009, we remember all the saints who have entered into rest since last All Saints Day 2008. May God bless the memory of our friends and loved ones who, even though they are no longer with us, they rejoice with us, but upon another shore this year, and in a greater light, that multitude which no one can number, whose hope was in the Word Made Flesh and with whom, in the Lord Jesus, we are one...forevermore. May their souls, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Bless your heart,
Will

First Blog

So this is my first blog. I hope to share some words of wisdom from time to time that hopefully can be enjoyed by a few people who pass this way.