Christmas Cards

I like sending Christmas cards and sending them where they begin to arrive the day after Thanksgiving. Many members of my church say they look forward to receiving them because it "officially starts the Christmas season." (Their words.)

When taking down the Christmas decorations, I like to re-read my Christmas cards. There's such a variety:

Some are very personalized - they include a picture. When I put these away in my photo box, it's always neat to see how the children grow and change from one year to another.

Others depict the sender's personality. For example, my cousin and his wife both have Harleys, so their card was a picture of Santa on a Harley motorcycle. An ex-student and her family raise and show Saddlebreds, so her card pictured Santa upon a Saddlebred, prancing through the snow-covered forest.

We have this one friend who loves to pull pranks. You know the card samples that come in the mail? Last year we got one of those. This year he really put some effort into his cards. He went around the city and picked up the little notes garbage men had left with their customers (you know the ones-little reminders to leave a tip). He scratched out the names of the garbage men and wrote his name. He's really a hoot!

Then I have a student who has always been so thoughtful and goes and picks out a "For My Teacher" card.

The weirdest one this year came from my brother-in-law and his wife. The card and message wasn't weird; it's how they signed it. They didn't put their names; they put "Clay and Jennifer"! It looked like we had sent ourselves a card. (I know people put the names of the people they're sending it to, but doesn't the name usally go at the top, before the message? Anyway, it is the thought that counts!)

And because it is the reason for the season, there are the cards with the religious pictures and message. Personally, I don't send these kinds of cards because the ones I've come across are just so blah looking.

Two messages really stood out this year. One card was so cute, showing a mouse dressed warmly beside a Christmas tree, looking up as the snow fell down from the sky. It's message read, "The fun of Christmas passes all too quickly...(open card) but the joy of Jesus lasts forever. Praying Your Christmas Is Filled With His Joy." The second card showed the three wise men (one of those "blah" pictures) but its message was the best one this year: (open card) "We're not asked to be kings and travel afar, By following leads from a bright, shining star. We're not asked to bring gifts from a storehouse of treasure, We're just asked to love Him, and to love without measure. Merry Christmas"

What a gift a simple card can be.