Take time to focus on the true meaning

Mark Gregory, Editor/The Sentinel-Record
Mark Gregory, Editor/The Sentinel-Record

I have a confession to make: I've had a little trouble getting into the ol' Christmas spirit this year.

Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather; maybe it's all of the changes my family has been going through the past year. It just didn't "seem" like the season was especially bright up until a couple of days ago.

Don't get me wrong -- I love Christmas and everything about it. I enjoy hearing people offering strangers a "merry Christmas" out of the blue, when any other day of the year they might not give them the time of day. I feel hope for humanity when I see boxes upon boxes of food and toys being gathered to give to those who struggle just to put one meal on the table each day. I love getting greeting cards and letters from friends and relatives and helping Dana pick out the photographs that we will send out in return.

And while I wouldn't mind feeling a little chill in the air on Christmas Day, I don't fret over warm weather ever since the winter of 2000. Longtime residents vividly recall the unrelenting sound of sleet peppering down not long after the presents were open, followed by the sounds of popping tree limbs and the sight of dark Christmas decorations.

Like thousands of others, our power was out for days. We spent a couple of nights in a hotel, which lost water pressure when the city's storage tanks ran low. Dana had to fill up a trash can in the swimming pool to flush the toilet.

We were overjoyed to see the restoration crew, all brought in from out of state, show up in our neighborhood. About the time the power came on, one of the neighborhood dogs went bounding through the side door I had left open, leading me on a merry chase through the house before finally heading out the door again.

Our biggest adjustment this season has been having a partially empty nest. Alex and Taylor live in Conway now, and the plans have been flying faster than tinsel on Santa's sleigh trying to work out the logistics of coordinating family celebrations.

My Christmas mood improved on Tuesday, when we made an impromptu trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens to see the Holiday Lights. It was pleasantly chilly and surprisingly crowded, since it was a weeknight, but worth every minute. If you haven't been, I highly recommend taking the time to go.

On Wednesday, after a torrential rain, Noah and I took a shopping trip downtown. We made our purchases and headed to the lobby of the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa to take in the annual gingerbread house display. The lobby was unusually empty for noontime. We settled into one of the couches to take in the view, and I pulled out my phone to make sure I hadn't missed any messages.

When I pulled up my phone's notification center, the following scripture popped up:

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them," Luke 2:6-7.

I stopped and stared at it for a long time. I've had that Bible app on my phone for quite a while. It displays a new scripture each day, but normally I flick through them with barely a second look, or thought.

Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke had been the centerpiece of our church's Christmas message, but it didn't come into focus for me until we were sitting in that hotel lobby, in clothes that were way too hot for the weather, looking at a confectionery masterpiece that was, in the final analysis, just another secular symbol of the holiday. It had taken me by the eye, but not by the heart, like that scripture had.

I'm thankful for that quiet moment with my son, which brought everything into focus for me. I wish the same for you this Christmas. May each and every one of you find peace, joy and love this holiday season.

Editorial on 12/25/2015

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