Remembering the Spirit of Christmas

By Kim Tilley

Love is at the very heart
of Christmas.

The holiday madness is upon us once again. Sometimes I wonder why I am putting myself through this again, and I’m not alone. Rushing through day after day of holiday activities and obligations, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Recently I had a warm, wonderful reminder of what this season is all about.

One of my best friends, Tina, has a son who is disabled. Aaron has been diagnosed with many things, including cerebral palsy, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Angelman’s syndrome. When he was born, the doctors told Tina that he would never walk or talk, and that he should be institutionalized. Tina and her family refused to believe Aaron’s future could be so hopeless. With years of the family’s hard work and unending patience, Aaron now walks and says some words, and also uses sign language. He also attends school, and loves his special-education class.

Recently Aaron’s class, along with some other special-education classes (11 teachers and 36 disabled students) took a field trip to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and sightseeing. They ate lunch at a little pizzeria in the food court. When everyone was finished eating, they got up to pay their bill and found to their surprise that someone had already paid it. The bill for 45 people had been over two hundred dollars.

When they asked who had paid the bill, the workers at the pizzeria told them that a man and woman sitting near the group had picked up the tab. The couple had left 30 minutes earlier, so there was no way that the teachers or the students could thank their anonymous good Samaritans.

The kindness of total strangers has been a theme in Aaron’s life since he was born, and it has touched those around him very deeply. Over the years I have watched in awe at how God uses circumstances around Aaron to show others how much He cares. Seeing these amazing things happening in Aaron’s life certainly rubs off—the stories could fill a book, but the lesson is always the same.

God shows his love for all of us, even though we are often too busy to notice. Sometimes that love is reflected in the kind words and deeds of others. A small act of kindness can show us that the true spirit of Christmas is very simple to grasp. It is the message of how much God cares for us every day, in big and small ways.

Love is at the very heart of Christmas. We can find that love wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger; and sometimes we can even find it in a pizzeria at the mall, among a group of disabled children eating a free lunch. Wherever you find it, hold it closely, treasure it, and then share it with someone else. Some things are just too wonderful to keep to yourself!

© Copyright 1999, Kim Tilley