Christmas 2013

As I am sitting here at my computer on this night before Christmas Eve of the year 2013, my wife Pat has gone to bed, and the house is quiet. . . It usually is at this hour of the day.  The two dogs, Wendy and Sarge have gone to bed as well, not that you can tell it as that is what their normal day is like anyway.  You see, they belong to us, and we are not the most active folks around, so they emulate their surroundings very well.  But I am thinking of Christmas past and what they have meant to me.

In my younger years, Christmas was always a hubbub of a holiday where the Saffell kids were squirming and anxious about what Santa would bring them.  We started our celebration on Christmas eve, a large family dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Saffell's house with all our cousins, aunts and uncles.  Of course us kids got our own special table as we sat eating our Capon, mashed potatoes and dressing, tons of gravy and more food than was humanly possible to eat all at one time.  It was a wonderful evening full of laughter and happiness bubbling over. After dinner and the dishes collected, everything washed and put away, we gathered around in the living room as we exchanged presents.  One of my favorite gifts was from my cousin Lee.  It was a metal Lincoln Continental hardtop, robins egg blue with opening suicide doors and a continental kit on the back end!  What a wonderful gift.  After everything was opened and thank you's exchanged,  we all went to our homes full of good food, a Christmas gift from a family member and the warmth of spending Christmas eve with those we loved.  When we got home (which took almost an hour drive) we put out our Christmas, extra large stockings, hanging them from one of the posts of a kitchen chair and rushed to bed because Santa was coming . . . but not before we went to sleep.

That was our Christmas eve when I was a young boy.  My older sister and two younger brothers were so blessed by our folks who taught us values and how family is and does things.  Sometimes we make wrong decisions as life works its thread through us.  Sometimes we seem to stray away and do things without remembering where the root of our lives are.  Sometimes decisions are made on financial conditions instead of what would be better for "the family".  There are things in all our lives that we can look back on something and say to ourselves "I wish I had done that differently" or "If I could re-do THAT"  We all have excuses for our actions don't we?  Life is like that, and it's ok.  God loves us in spite of our short comings.  It is times like this time of the year when we have the opportunity to gather with family and enjoy each other and celebrate being part of something that we all have in common.  That common thread is what makes our family.  When we gather around and celebrate our Heavenly Father and the birth of His Son and our Redeemer Jesus the Christ, it seems to bring happiness to us all.  It is with the love that has been placed in our hearts knowing that God is in control, and knowing that He knows who each and everyone of us are . . . right down to the shadowy part of our inner selves, and loves us anyway!   What a joy that is.

Being a Christian is all I know.  I have some Jewish friends. I have lived a short time in the midst of the Muslim community in Saudi Arabia, have been exposed to the non-believers right here in the United States.  Guess what?  We are ALL God's children!  In a perfect world, we would all get along and value each other as much as we value our own family.  In a perfect world we would not have hate and anxiety about what tomorrow will bring, and who will do something bad.  But we do not live in a perfect world.  It is our job to bring happiness and joy through how we live and what we say and how we say it.  God will sort it out.  Be a joy giver.  Bring the peace that you have in yourself and share it with others.   Hope, Peace, Joy, Love    All words that each of us desire within our own lives.  This is the time of the year that makes it the BEST gift to share with others.  To help them understand what we have and how they can share as we do.


Back to the Saffell Christmas....We were doubly blessed to have BOTH of our Grandparents, not only in the same town, but about four miles or less from each other.  So, our Christmas Day was spent at my Mother's parents house, Grandma and Grandpa Rockart.  We seem to gather around food a lot in our family, because we had a full blown Turkey dinner with ALL the trimmings!  My oh my . . . what more can be said.  How blessed we are to have each other to share the meaning of this season.  The Birth of Jesus the Christ.  For us, it is NOT "Happy Holidays". It is Merry Christmas.   As Christians we welcome everyone to share the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love that we do.  Why would we do that?  Because God wants us to.  Because it is the Right thing to do.  Because it feels good to do.

Merry Christmas to YOU.  May the Peace that God has sent to us, be with you through this season and the New Year.

Blessings,
Gary