Life is made up of...

The other morning I was sitting here at my desk, and I heard on the radio that a woman and her 3 daughters were in a car accident when she lost control of her vehicle and the mini van they were traveling in landed in a body of water.

None of them survived.

Ironically the woman was able to call 911 and her husband before she died. But help got there too late. It was only a matter of minutes, one expert estimates it took 6 minutes before help arrived on the scene, but from the time of the accident to the time someone reached them, they had all perished.

In a matter of minutes, life had ended for them and had been irrevocably changed for others.

Life is made up of moments. One after the other, each filled with their own needs and carrying their own end results. From one moment to the other we lie in the balance between what is and what could be.

For this family, it took only a moment to change all that they knew into something they'd never even thought about or possibly imagined.

Life is made up of moments.

And although we can't control time nor control the continuum that makes up time, we can control what we do with our time.

I know we say it, but its still true none the less.

Life is precious.

And more than being precious, its a gift. We did nothing to deserve it, and yet we have it just the same. What we make of it or do with it, is a choice that's been given to each of us.

But I wonder what we would do if we knew that the next moment wasn't coming to us, but rather it was coming for us.

What would that woman and her daughters have done differently? What would her husband have done differently? Would we exchange words of hurt or offer words of love? Would we focus on what we didn't have or count our blessing for what we did have?

Life is made up of moments.

When one of them is gone, its a moment we can never get back or re-do again. We should live our lives in such a manner that we embrace each moment as though the next one wasn't coming.

How much sweeter and kinder would our thoughts and words be? How much more loving our actions would be and how much more at peace we could become.

How very different our perspective of life would be, if we took to heart the moments that mattered the most and made the most of them.

Life is made up of moments...

The Love of Christmas

The other day I was listening to a group of people discuss (complain about) their holiday plans and all that they had yet to do.

Many had shopping left to do and things to bake, some had a lot of parties and engagements they had to attend, and some were at a loss as to what to get certain people on their christmas list.

And as I listened, I found myself wondering if that was all there was to christmas anymore.

Had christmas really been reduced to shopping days and parties? Had it really just come down to stuff to buy and who not to forget on our lists?

I pondered these questions in my heart, and heres what I came up with:

The first gift ever given for Christmas was love.

And it was given in love.

So its perfectly okay for us to buy gifts for those who mean something to us and those we want to bless in a special way. The giving of gifts is symbolic to what was given to us on that first christmas night.

But is Christmas just about gifts?

And its perfectly okay to come together with friends and family to celebrate the festiveness of the holiday and to celebrate this special occasion with those we love. Even the angels celebrated that first Christmas right?

But though we have reason to celebrate, Christmas goes beyond celebrations and family gathering.

So what is Christmas about?!!?

Love.

For always.

Gifts are forgotten, and celebrations become memories. But love? Love lives on in our hearts for always.

And when I look at it from that perspective, it makes Christmas something different for me.

Afterall, it was love that made the difference for us all that first Christmas. Love didn't just come that we might celebrate and bless each other for one day. It came that we might know love every day and be blessed because of it.

I'm keeping it simple this year. I'm celebrating the Love of Christmas and the One who gives me that love everyday.

And my wish for you?

That the Love that is Christmas, be yours too.

For always.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!