Repeat the Sounding Joy

I still have a memory of the first time I sensed there really was a Christmas spirit.  I must have been in the fifth or sixth grade.  The example of holiday joy and bliss was someone who to that point I had an only had an adversarial relationship with.  He was the pharmacist who also owned the local drug store.  At that time we lived on Woodhall Street on the east side of Detroit.  The Woodhall Drug Store stood in the corner of East Warren and our street. The store only had two employees most of the time, the pharmacist and a grandmotherly type woman who ran the cash register up front.  When I walked into the store I always hoped she was on duty, because the owner seemed to have a sour disposition toward children.  The store had a candy counter, but that was not the real draw for me. They stocked Topps Trading Cards and I was serious customer; baseball cards and football cards, depending on the season.  When the regular clerk was at the register, it was service with a smile. When she was absent and the owner filled it, the experience was far less pleasant.  My small transactions, baseball cards were a nickel a pack in those day, seemed to be viewed as an interruption.  That was especially the case if he had to come out from his cage at the back of the store to meet my meager demands.

It was a couple of days before Christmas and the decorations had been hung about the store.  When I entered the store I immediately noted an empty counter at the front of the store.  I was not looking forward to dealing with "Mr Surly."  The bell over the door had announced my arrival, so he was already making his slow trek my way.  The expression on his face was dower and I sensed he saw my presence as an interruption.  I don't recall the item, but as he handed me my purchase I felt compelled to share some Christmas cheer.  "Merry Christmas," I proclaimed.  Much to my surprise for the first time in memory I saw the man smile.  "Merry Christmas to you too," he countered.   Lesson learned.

If there is to be a Christmas spirit, it must begin with us.  If you believe that the babe born in a manger is the Messiah; you have the Christmas Spirit.  If you believe that babe came to be your Savior from sin, death and the devil; you have the Christmas Spirit.  If you recognize that the story doesn't end at the manger, or the cross, but at an open tomb; you have the Christmas Spirit.  I would encourage you to put aside the hustle and bustle that often comes with the season and focus on the real reason for the season.  Smile more. Share some cheer and if you are going to be generous with anything, make it Christmas joy.