In July and in December

My friend Harold published a book a few years ago in which he tells this story.

John was divorced, with two young boys.  The week before Christmas the boys were with their mother and grandmother.  On Christmas Eve, John picked them up at the train station.  They were laden down with all kinds of Christmas loot. 

At their father’s home, later that night, they oohed and aahed as they showed him the gifts from their mother and grandmother.  When they finished, they looked around at the sparsely lit, small tree, and small smattering of gifts, and asked, “So Dad, what are you giving us?”

With careful words, John said, “Boys, all I have to give you is myself.  It’s not much, but it’s all I have.  I do promise this – I’ll never leave you.  I’ll always be there for you, not only in December, but in July as well.  For I love you.  You have my love.”

That speaks to me today. 

Is there really anything else we could desire but to be loved?

I’m full of Christmas love right now.

Merry Christmas.

(An abridged version, taken from The Gifts of Christmas by Harold Ivan Smith)

P Michael Biggs

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Hark!

The carol is familiar, and sung often during this season.  But what the heck does it mean?

HARK!

Is it an alarm?

Is it a warning?

‘Hark’ simply means “to listen to somebody or something”.

So what do “Hark” and “Christmas” have to do with one another?

There are multiple layers to this wonderful story of Christ’s birth.  I think, perhaps, it is a suggestion to take note, notice, observe, look and see with sight and insight.   In the carol, we are asked to listen to the message of the angels. 

“Hark” is an archaic word.  I imagine we only hear it at Christmastime.  Yet the admonition is there.

It says in effect:  “Pay attention people.  Something wonderful is happening and you don't want to miss it.” 

I'm paying attention ...

  To the music of the season

    The lights of the season

      The smells of the season

        The joy of the season

I am harking.

Have you “harked” yet?

P Michael Biggs

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Finding Peace at Christmas

In the much loved Christmas carol Do You Hear What I Hear, we find a five-word phrase tucked away that is kind of important.

“Said the King to the people everywhere

Pray for peace, people everywhere”

These words are so simple they could easily be overlooked.  Yet what I love most about this idea is that everybody can pray.  Almost everyone prays some kind of prayer at differing moments in a lifetime.

What if we started a movement of praying for peace?  Have you ever known a time in recent history when the need is greatest for peace to break out?

Let it be so. 

P Michael Biggs

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Decorations

We now move full speed into the Christmas season.  We already see the sights of Christmas with a few decorations already on display at some of our nearby neighbors and our lovely town is already lit up and is a picture of loveliness.

So, what decorates your life and my life?

Sometimes it is a ring of value, or a watch.

Some decorate their lives with automobiles and boats.

This is not a how-to post.  It is simply a thought that might, perhaps cause us to simply ponder the decorations in our lives.

Decorations come in all sizes, colors, shapes and dimensions.

They include:

 A diploma

  A job

   A name brand suit of clothes or jewelry

    Dating or being married to the right person

     Aligning with the ‘right’ religion or dogma

I love to decorate the space around me with books and a great music library.

Decorations can be good or bad.  It is what we gain from having that particular decoration in our lives and how we interact with it, and allow its influence to affect us.

Mostly, I hope your decorations add value to what you do, how you do what you do, and it brings you occasional moments of joy and peace.

P Michael Biggs

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The Coffee Break Syndrome

Coffee has seemingly taken the world by storm.  And I have become a coffee snob of sorts, but that is not what I want to write about.

 

The coffee “break” demands our attention today.  I found this quote recently and regret not capturing its source. 

“We are good at drinking espresso,

but lousy at taking a coffee break.”

Don’t forget the “break” part.  That is a part of life too.  Remember, the heart pauses between the beats.  The weekend gives us a break from the 5-day grind.  And we need a sleep break for a few hours every day.

We need the break.  Call it ‘the pause that refreshes’ to borrow from Coco Cola’s long ago slogan.

Taking that occasional “break” is how our bodies are wired, and without the break our bodies can become unwired.

Think about that the next time you go for coffee.

P Michael Biggs

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