Your Last Christmas?

What would you do if you knew that this was your last Christmas?
What cards would finally be written?
What sins might be forgiven?
What gifts would you impart to your loved ones?
Would you travel north to enjoy a real “white” Christmas?
Would you gather your extended family for one more gathering on Christmas morn? Would you sing the carols at the top of your lungs?
Would you drink in the words of the Christmas story?
Would go overboard with decorations?
Would your home and heart be open to all in need?
Would you pay a little extra for a bigger tree?
Would you give it all away if you only knew that this was to be your last Christmas?

What Christmas would you revisit, if only you could?
Maybe the Christmas you got what you hoped for?
Would it be that last Christmas with Dad, or the year before the fighting started?
Maybe you would choose to revisit the wonder years?
Would you step back over hurt feelings and scandals to a simpler day when less was more, and loving came easy?
Would you go back to the age of sleds and toboggans?
Would you choose to make the moments into memories?

If the doors you thought locked were now standing wide open, would you rewrite the script that determined your path?
If only the best could be passed to the future – if only the warmest of memories survived. We would all go back to relive precious moments, but yesterday died at midnight and it cannot be revived.

With the past unreachable, and tomorrow uncertain, the only domain we can seize is the “now.”
We are standing in a workshop filled with great memories yet to be assembled.
If only we could see what miracles could be birthed in this Christmas season.
We hold in our hearts, great intentions; unspoken sentiments; healing words; acts of love.
We’re just days away from the best we have known if only we choose to let Christmas prevail; if only we choose to give more than we’re getting; if only we, like Jesus, come down to earth from our lofty positions to humble ourselves and bring joy to the world.