So Long Grinch-Like Attitude

In the middle of November, Gina asked me to write a blog for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. She said it didn’t have to be about the holidays and suggested it be lighthearted and fun. I responded that it wouldn’t be about the holidays because of my Grinch-like attitude but I would keep it lighthearted and fun. However, this blog IS going to be about the holidays and it’s not particularly lighthearted and fun. Sorry, Gina.

Probably for the past seven years, I have dreaded the Christmas season, and in December 2020, any Christmas spirit I had was evaporated. My sweet mother passed away from COVID on December 7, 2020. Since that year, I have been almost proud of my anti-holiday attitude. That all changed right before Thanksgiving this year. There is a lady, Carol, who I work with at the Charlestown Library, and she is a Christmas fanatic. She had already purchased gifts for Christmas 2024 in November 2023. As Mrs. Santa Claus, she visits children, the elderly and others. Admittedly, I kidded her about her enthusiasm. Then one day as I was stating that I really don’t like the holidays and would be happy to skip on to the middle of January, Carol shared something that changed everything for me. I had said that there are people I miss during the holidays and it makes me sad. Carol told me that several years ago, she lost her mother right before Christmas. Carol acknowledged that she could have decided not to celebrate that year, but that she wanted to enjoy Christmas in memory of her mother. Her mom was as much a Christmas fanatic as Carol is now. Carol’s mom would never want her to dislike the holidays.

Those comments lingered on my mind for many days to come, and I realized that my mom wouldn’t want me to dislike the holidays either. She grew up in a household that didn’t really acknowledge Christmas. Mom’s grandmother passed away on Christmas Day just months before my mother was born. Mom was determined that her daughter would have joyous, happy Christmases. My late  husband, Steve, wouldn’t want me to use him as an excuse to dislike the holidays either. Even when he was very ill with ALS, he was so happy to have family over on Christmas and enjoy the day despite his limitations.

I realized that God had used my co-worker as a tool to give me back the love of Christmas. Me resenting the holidays because I have loved ones in Heaven was causing my daughters to dread Christmas. I was cheating them out of understanding the importance of the birth of Jesus. Yes, being with loved ones is wonderful and all the memories can be joyful, but these reasons aren’t the most important part of this precious time of the year. The girls (actually grown women) and I sat down to discuss my behavior and the regret and guilt I felt because of my attitude. After a good cry, we started our preparations for the Season.

This year, Jesus put the true spirit of Christmas in my heart. He used Carol, my daughters, and the memories of my mother and Steve to give me the most joyful and enjoyable Christmas I have had in years. The infant Jesus came to Earth to become a man who showed us that He understands our trials. He saved us and opened the Gates of Heaven to us and our loved ones. Sometimes our memories will make us sad because we miss Christmases past. However, those memories will also warm our hearts and allow us to anticipate seeing those who have gone before us to live with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

My prayer for this new year is that everyone who is grieving, ill, and lonely will find peace by knowing Jesus, who loves all. I also pray that God will use the Wesley Chapel family as a tool to comfort, heal, and befriend many in the coming year.