Published: January 03, 2008 12:26 pm         

Let's keep spirit of Christmas alive in 2008

It is Christmas Eve morning that I am writing this column. I'm busy counting candles for our evening candlelight service and also giving pep talks to our nativity puppets (they only get out once a year and I want them to be at the top of their game). I have not yet opened and given Christmas presents, eaten a wonderful Christmas meal, nor visited with family and friends. As of this moment, I have all that and more to look forward to this evening and tomorrow.

It is obvious, however, that by the time you read this, not only will Christmas be past, but we will already be at the start of a brand new year. Many have already put Christmas away until next year and are back at the old grind.

It's a shame that each year, Christmas is so easily disassembled and put into storage in plastic bins and cardboard boxes. Sometimes I wish it wasn't easy. That maybe when I tried to put the tree in the box, it would fight back, pushing and resisting me at every turn. Or that when I tried to remove the lights from the spouting, somehow they would have permanently attached themselves. And just imagine how pleasant life would be if that mistletoe hung in the hallway all year long! And what if we left the nativity in place throughout the year so we didn't just remember the reason for the season, but the reason for living?

But what if we kept the tree in place, the lights twinkling and the nativity on display inside of our hearts? What if there, in our minds, we chose to keep the spirit of Christmas going throughout the year? What if the star of Bethlehem continued to shine and baby Jesus continued to draw us to himself? This year, let's keep the spirit of Christmas alive. And remember, that even though I still have Christmas to look forward to at this moment, so do you.

David Sandvick is the pastor of First English Baptist Church in Frostburg.