That Same Old New Story

The family has all returned home, the turkey has been devoured and no more leftovers, all has been cleaned up, the travel is done…or at least, for now. Thanksgiving is over and the goal now is to lose the 5 pounds gained before the feasts of Christmas and New Years. Being with family during the holidays can have its ups and downs. The best part of being with family is the stories. All families have stories and all families like to tell their stories. Sure, some stories get more interesting with each passing year, and even with each passing decade. I enjoy the stories shared with family during the holidays, even if I’ve heard them all my life.

Stories are a rich part of who we are as a people, as a culture, and as a family. They are the oracles of time, passed down throughout generations. Some cultures value the spoken historical stories more than others. Some families tell stories of struggles, overcoming obstacles, first loves, memorable events, and the passing of loved ones. My children will only know their grandfather through the stories my mother and my siblings and I tell, and through those stories, my father will continue into generations to come. Stories bring life to those who passed before us and knowledge of who we are to those of us who still walk this earth.

If our hearts, souls, and minds are left unguarded, we might fall into the thinking that the stories of our family, our culture, our adversity, our country, and our very existence are boring fairy tales of meaningless nothingness, the mere ramblings of people who are struck in the past of their lives. How sad it can be when we turn our ears away from the stories of who we are, when we close the doors of our souls to the stories of the greatness and the great feats of those who have come before our time. So much opportunity for gained insight and wisdom from the lives of others, from the history of who we are, and from the minds of those who will pass on one day.

The time of Christmas this year is upon us, and the stories of what Christmas is, and what it means to us as children of a God who loves in terms that we as humans cannot comprehend will be told once again. We will begin the ritual traditions of our faith that are designed to bring us into an awareness of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in an ultimate effort to bridge us back to God, through unconditional and complete love. And like stories shared from generation to generation, the story has been heard, the setting is familiar, the characters known. And if we are not awake and alert, we are at risk of believing the story of the Birth of Christ is nothing new, nothing special, having no new meaning this year, providing no insight into who we are as people of God.

I challenge you, my friend and reader, to burst open that door that blocks the significance of the story of the Birth of Christ and open your soul to God, to Jesus Himself, to show you His totality in a fresh and new way this year. I challenge you, my reader and friend, to allow the love of Christ to bring new significance to an old and ageless story of not only who this Jesus is but to who you are, to who you are in Christ, and to how you can continue to open more and more of yourself, exposing those dark places in your soul, in a perfect relationship with your God and Savior.

This year, don’t just hear the story, but listen to it with the ears of your soul, feel it, sense it, believe it, live it, and let it live in you, through you, and shine into a dark world. Today, and through this Christmas time, hear the story, in the eyes and through the ears of one who has just heard it, with complete awe and wonder.

(The writings in this post are random thoughts and observations and are NEVER intended as professional or personal advice. Take what works and leave the rest. For information on mental health and/or substance abuse help, visit http://www.rodneyvalandra.com and refer to the links page.)