“What about having Christmas in July?” That was a recent text I received from a nursing home volunteer. She had been crocheting teddy bears as Christmas gifts for the care home residents that attend our weekly Sunday afternoon gatherings, and she had completed them much earlier than expected. As someone who will gladly use any reason to celebrate a holiday, I was excited. I responded to her that I thought it was a great idea and suggested we even sing some Christmas carols. Then I remembered a resident who loved having eggnog as a special treat last year, and so I decided to track down some eggnog. No luck there. So I broke out my festive Christmas apron and my cookie cutters and made some Christmas cookies. This was going to be fun! Why should we sing Christmas songs only once a year or eat Christmas cookies once a year? After all, as sad as it is to consider, some of our friends in the nursing home may not be with us by Christmas.
Immediately, I recalled a scene in an episode of one of my favorite television shows, “Everybody Loves Raymond.” In the episode, the grandparents, Frank and Marie, are discussing Frank’s favorite dish, braciole (stuffed beef), and why Marie never makes it for him anymore. Marie says to Frank, “I didn’t want you to get sick of it!” To which Frank replies, “I’m 64 years old. What are you waiting for?”
Did you ever have special china that you only brought out on holidays or birthdays? It stayed in the cabinet 362 days a year? Why do we do things like that? I assume because we feel just like Marie; if we use the china all the time, it will no longer be special. (Of course, there are other considerations like having to hand wash it and the fear of breaking it.) However, none of us are promised tomorrow. James 4:13-15 says, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” We may be saving our china for a party that never comes.
Proverbs 8:15 says “And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” Instead of allowing the cares of this world to weigh us down and cause us to despair, we should enjoy the good and simple gifts that God has given: a fresh summer peach with juice that runs down our hands with every bite, an impromptu encouraging conversation with a neighbor out on the lawn, a chilly winter evening spent sitting by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book. Every good gift is from God (James 1:17); we should not put off celebrating and giving thanks for the gifts and blessings in our lives.
I’m not saying we need a party everyday, but perhaps we can live with a greater awareness of the little joys all around us. If we’ve been blessed with a nice set of china, for example, consider getting it out more than twice a year for Christmas or Easter. Perhaps on a Saturday evening–just a regular Saturday–you can set the table with a pretty tablecloth, china, and cloth napkins. Try some “gracious living;” place some candlesticks in the center of the table, light the candles, and enjoy a meal on that beautiful china. (Pizza or roast beef, it doesn’t matter!) Or maybe we can plan one day a month to pack a picnic lunch and enjoy it at a nearby park, lake, or other outdoor setting that makes us feel happy. Thank God for the birds chirping, the children playing, or the water gurgling in the distance.
Should gift giving be reserved for Christmas and birthdays? What about giving your spouse or child or friend a gift “just because?” And I mean a wrapped present, not just a “I-found-this-at-Target-today-here-you-go” gift that you pull out of the plastic shopping bag when you walk in the door. Take the extra five minutes to wrap the Target thing–it’s those extra five minutes that say, “I thought of you today, and I bought you something just because I love you.”
Do not put off making people feel loved and appreciated. Do not put off giving thanks for and enjoying the good gifts in your life. Be purposeful to look for and relish the the small and simple joys that surround you every day. Maybe in so doing, you can offer an antidote to our culture’s struggle with stress, anxiety, and depression.
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Prov. 12:25
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Prov. 17:22
