by Teresa Schreiber Werth
You may have forgotten, but you have a very special, almost-super power. Everybody does. It’s your IMAGINATION! You can use your imagination to go anywhere, be anything, do anything. Your imagination works best with your eyes closed, so all of the real stuff around you doesn’t get in the way of your imagining. But once you close your eyes, you can imagine yourself as tall as a ten-story building or as tiny as a lady bug. You have the power.
And so, I was wondering about Christmas. WHAT IF you used your imagination to make Christmas completely different than usual? WHAT IF all the advertisements for toys, the music, movies and presents totally disappeared? WHAT IF no one made lists of things they want or shopped for things other people want?
INSTEAD…
WHAT IF Christmas was about LAUGHTER? Your job would be to spread Christmas LAUGHTER by telling jokes, tickling, being silly, making people smile. You would look for ways to make people laugh and when they laughed, they would feel happy…and so would you! If all we had to give each other was the gift of LAUGHTER, imagine what a pleasant place the world would be!
WHAT IF Christmas was about KINDNESS? Imagine yourself being kind to everyone you meet, not being impatient or rude, not arguing or being bossy, not being selfish or greedy. If all you could think about was being kind to parents, siblings, neighbors, friends, teachers, even people you don’t like or know, imagine how good everyone would feel to be surrounded by kindness?
WHAT IF Christmas was about FORGIVING? Imagine that you decide to forgive someone who has hurt you with their words or actions, embarrassed or forgotten you? If you can imagine it, you can do it. Your Christmas gift to some unsuspecting person could be your true forgiveness and you would both feel as if the world was a nicer place because you made peace.
WHAT IF Christmas was about LOVING and JOY? Imagine the feeling in your heart when you give long, strong, hugs and say “I love you” to family and friends. Nothing makes someone feel as special as when you remind them that they are loved. It doesn’t cost any money or have to be wrapped or mailed. It’s a wonderful gift you deliver in person and one-size truly does fit everyone!
WHAT IF Christmas was not about fancy gifts and glittery decorations? WHAT IF, instead, Christmas was about the SURPRISE on people’s faces when you give them gifts they never dreamed of? WHAT IF you say, “For Christmas this year, I’m surprising you with some very special gifts. They don’t come from a store. They come from my heart. They don’t need to be sized or wrapped because I imagined them especially for YOU. The Christmas gifts I have imagined are as real as any you will ever receive because they come from ME. I have been DREAMING of a different kind of Christmas and that’s what I want to share with you this year.
AND WHAT IF, just WHAT IF, the Spirit of Christmas is captured best by a baby boy born in a shed, wrapped in a blanket and laid in a simple crib? WHAT IF his coming reminds us of all the wonderful Christmas gifts: the LAUGHTER of his parents upon his arrival, the KINDNESS of strangers who found them a place to rest, their FORGIVING spirit for the inconvenience they caused, the LOVE and JOY they felt for being sheltered, safe and warm.
WHAT IF this Christmas, your family and friends discover that the best presents are not the ones that come in boxes but the simple, humble gifts you give, the ones they feel in their heart? You have the power to give those special gifts. You have the power to make a WHAT IF Christmas!
