I Believe in Christmas

I know this has not been a normal Christmas season for any of us and if any of us could choose how we want our Christmas season to go we would not pick it to go like it did this year. Yet amongst all the stress, worry, fear, boredom and sadness, like an old friend Christmas is still here. There is something about Christmas that not even a year like this can take away and there are many times, I have taken great joy in the simple fact that it was the Christmas season. Christmas is not just a time of year but a state of mind. As many of you know I am a Christian and so it is at this time that I celebrate the birth of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We often forget, that Jesus did not have to come to this Earth. He could have simply enjoyed the enteral glory of his heavenly home and never have had to put up with our Earthly hardships. He never had to have been mocked by so many, betrayed by one of his own followers and gone through the unimaginably painful death of the crucifixion. So why did he come? There is only one answer, love. That is why I believe there is no better way to celebrate this time of year then by living with love in your heart the way Jesus did. In a year when so many people are in need of love, perhaps it is important that Christmas still came, to remind us to spread love and cheer to all those who need it most, to learn to put others above ourselves and simply to make people smile. When you do this you feel the spirit of Christmas deep in your heart in a way no traditions could ever make you. So God bless Christmas and thank you for this daily reminder of what life is truly about, not only believing in or serving Jesus but in trying to live our lives with the same love in our hearts as he did. So yes I believe in Christmas and I believe in Christmas magic. -Michael J. Ruhland