What we are striving to be

As he arose a changed man on Christmas morning, a repentant Ebenezer Scrooge exclaimed, "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."  Like Dickens's fictional character, we each learn that life's most important moments are only transitory if they don't become part of our everyday lives.  Life's celebrations are not left behind us if we let them live on in our hearts, embracing the present and shaping the future.  By letting life's special moments live on in our hearts, we can make a "holy day" out of each holiday, can experience a rebirth on each birthday and a new beginning with each new year.

The joy and hope that accompanied a child's birth can calm and comfort us as we clean up after the toddler or discipline the teenager.  Reflecting on beautiful wedding day memories can keep love growing in marriages.  And our feelings of communion with the infinite can return to strengthen us whenever loss, fear, or doubt confronts us.

Family traditions, our social gatherings, even the preparations and decorations for special events can help our hearts preserve the remarkable realities that make life truly worth celebrating.

Over nearly twenty centuries since it first appeared, Bethlehem's star has continued to shine through all those who have been willing to be guided by it.  When the meaning of life's special events lives in our hearts, our celebrations are measured by who we are and what we are striving to be.