Upon beginning a new day, it is easy to quickly find oneself absorbed in the secular activities we would like to avoid. But this day, freshly fallen snow is upon the ground and has delightfully clung to the branches of both pine and hardwood trees. I am in heaven, which is contrary to many of my close friends and family.

I find myself feeling a joy that I have known all the days of my life, from its beginning until now. That joy is held in the secular as well as the spiritual.

I’m finding that I have begun to embrace the season in both ways. Even the many generational items that I will display within our home have such value in relationship to their memories that live on.

Oh, and then there are the precious handmade Christmas ornaments made by my children through the years. No store could offer such rich blessings! Yesterday while doing a bit of inventory in the Christmas closet, I found an ornament that I had made in 1974 for my then four-year-old son as he was learning to embrace and accept his new little brother of one. I can’t wait to pass this on to my firstborn. I can’t really figure out how that got hidden in the family seasonal closet but perhaps this is THE best time to give that to him? One never knows.

I’ve decided not to beat myself up over the things that might be considered secular. I’m thinking about how God provides both the sacred and the secular in our earthly lives. How could something so meaningful be bad for anyone? I know it’s not for me.

Each year I am thankful for the gifts of a lifetime of memories with those who have gone on as well as those who live among us yet. One day, my closet of memories will bring joy, I pray, to those whom I have loved and gone on before.