These are the days.

These are the days.  These are very much the days of wonder, the days of wonder, excitement, and joy.

I enjoy the season of autumn because the weather becomes cooler, though I must admit that the season of winter brings a sense of wonder, excitement, and joy that are unparalleled by the other seasons of the year.  There is the sense of wonder set with the raising of Christmas lights and Christmas trees, the observations of Advent and Hanukkah and the lighting of Advent wreaths and Hanukkah Menorahs, among other things.  There is a sense of excitement of the first winter snow (which, for athletes, brings the excitement of being able to go snowboarding and skiing), the excitement of being able to sing Christmas carols, being able to see the luminarias in Old Town on Christmas Eve.  There is the joy of giving gifts to those we care about, the joy of seeing the eyes of children and foreign exchange students brighten with joy and awe of things that are new to them and the wonder of what it all means.

For those who believe in God, there is the wonder, excitement, and joy of the birth of Jesus the Christ and the expectation of Him returning to earth to usher His people into heaven.

In the midst of all of this, it's very easy to forget that there are people who, for whatever reason or reasons, are not experiencing these things, this wonder, excitement and joy.  There are people who are sick and in the hospital and do not have any family to visit them.  There are those who are new to town and do not have any family or acquaintances to spend the holiday with.  There are people who are wondering if they will be able to pay their bills, let alone pay for Christmas presents.  There are people who are homeless and wondering if they will survive the night.  For these people (and many others who are ailing in many other ways), these are not the days of wonder, excitement, and joy.  These people are vulnerable, they appear to be very strong on the outside, but are actually very frail.  If there is someone who could benefit from the wonder, excitement, and joy of Christmas, it would be someone from this group of hurting people.

It is easy to volunteer one's time at local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, visiting the elderly around the holidays (I am not bashing this by any means, doing this does help many people tremendously).  As I write this blog and as I think about this topic, I realize that volunteering at these places all throughout the year rather than just at the holidays will probably help create relationships between the visitor/volunteer and the person/organization that is being visited/helped, which then helps create the sense of wonder, excitement, and joy.  Thinking about this makes me realize that I need to do this more often than I have.  It is so easy to become so caught up in the wonder, excitement, and joy that I'm experiencing that I do not always share it with others who do not have it.  Not only should I share the wonder, excitement, and joy that God has given me with them, but I should be sharing it with them throughout the year so that they may possibly be able to share it with others.

Is it always easy to escape out of our little bubbles to share the wonder, excitement, and joy of the season and actually share it year round?  No, but it can be done.  For some, the silver lining around the moon is not always seen, but we can somehow impact the life a person with hope and joy.