I don’t know about you, but money is tight with us this season. So, we decided that it might not be wise for us to send out Christmas cards. Lots of our friends have already made this decision, so we thought maybe we could do it too. Well it didn’t work out so well for us.

You see the problem is that we really enjoy sending cards as well as receiving them. So, we began by making a list of a few of our closest friends we would send cards to and it just grew from there. Now our list is up to around 70 names, but we did save some money. My wife loves to make greeting cards and she is especially talented and creative in that area. Her creations are not just cards, but each one is an individual work of art, one friend told us that they were framing one of her cards! (As you can see I am somewhat proud of her skill and creativity). I joined in and in a few days we had most of the cards completed, signed and addressed. It still was a somewhat overwhelming task as she not only makes the cards, but also makes the envelopes for the cards. We were able to deliver a large part of them by hand to our local congregation, but still mailed quite a few.

Why would we do that, why go to all that work, make all that effort? When I was talking with my mother yesterday she said something that gave the perfect answer. She said, “Christmas is not about giving gifts, it is about letting people know you care, it is about relationships.” For us, with each card we sign we remember those to which we are sending the card. The cards were not expensive, but they were, each and every one, created with love and with the purpose of letting folks know that we are thinking of them and that they are special to us.

Now I know that Christmas as much of the world sees it, is not found in the bible, but the birth of our Savior is. That is what Christmas cards and giving gifts reflects isn’t it? It is about sharing something of yourself with those you love. Not because you have to or because it is expected of you, but because you want to share just a small part of yourself with others.

Jesus said it this way in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Sometimes that is accomplished with just a note … or even a Christmas card. So, how are you doing in sharing the love of Christ?

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“A Prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it”. Proverbs 22:3