Exhaustion

     Christmas Day culminates in mixed emotions.  For a pastor, the body is exhausted but the spirit uplifted.  I loved the chance to share a dramatic presentation including a song to eager participants in the Christmas Eve Services.  Watching the candles' kindle in the eyes of a gifted tenor brought particular peace to my heart.  Watching little Kennedy dance to "Go Tell It on the Mountain" on Christmas Day brought joy to my heart.

     Much more could be shared, but I'll have to reflect on the satisfaction that munching on ham ("man candy") and cheesy potatoes brings...Thanks, Molly and Mike!  I sorely missed Mark for the first time in 25 Christmases and his bride, Marissa.  But the reflection of love in the faces of those gathered around a tree larger than me brought a calm to my heart.  As Henry Van Dyke wrote around one hundred years ago...It is a good thing to keep Christmas and to share it with as many as we can........