around 135 people.
This was our seventh year and our biggest crowd so far.
Each year I am amazed how wonderfully friendly this group is. As
I work to keep the punch bowl full I observe neighbors chatting with friends from church. As I scan the room I hear our drum teacher introducing himself to a homeschool dad. My father is spotted moving around the room greeting those he hasn’t met before.
This is what our lives need to look like…..welcoming, warm and
outgoing.
Christmas is a special season in this way. Oh, how do we duplicate that warm cheer all year round?
The answer is simple, we start with our family!
We make a difference, we go against the norm, and we reach out
and meet the needs we see. It may be uncomfortable, but it is the ultimate reward to love the way Christ first loved us. He didn’t wait for us to love Him back; He gave Himself willingly and completely.
Still there are those difficult people that we try to converse
with, while they continue to close themselves off with their heads bent over their phones texting. A friend of my daughter’s wisely counseled her,“they have to try too”. Just as our Lord is always available to us, yet He does not force Himself on us, so we too must make an effort, but not expect everyone to respond.
We can’t let a bump in the road throw us into the ditch. Keeping
on track entails focusing on the receptive and continuing to be ready to reach out to the difficult when they have a need.
No more waiting for others to do something; let’s start to make a
difference right now as a family loving one person at a time.