Wisdom from Anne Frank

This Christmas, everything was different. For whatever reason, I had a new appreciation of this marvelous season. I looked at Christmas differently. It was a time where I thought less about presents, and more about the giving of the presents. It was more about others this season.

I don’t know if this is just me maturing or what, but things are different now. And ya know what? This was one of the best Christmases yet.

Maybe this has to do with me hearing Anne Frank’s quote a few days ago, “No one has ever become poor by giving”.

Or maybe it was finishing Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, in which (spoiler alert) the main character sacrifices himself for another.

And maybe, just maybe, it was keeping my eyes on Jesus and His wonderful grace for this world.

I find that all of these correlate- they all are associated with giving. Selflessness. Sacrifice. Truth be told, sacrifice never goes out of style.

This holiday is not about finding out which bag you are going to get, or which earrings you didn’t get, or what you can buy with all of your gift cards, no. Even though gifts are great, getting stuff is not where the spirit of Christmas lies. It lies in dying to yourself and giving to others.

Jesus and Sydney Carton give us great examples of what that looks like. Yes, they went above and beyond where they actually did lose their lives to save others, but we can do the same. We can sacrifice our time for someone else even if we have something really important to do. We can think of something really thoughtful to do for someone, even if it costs a little extra money out of our pockets. The thought of the look on their face is worth the extra pennies.

We can give, give, and give some more. I truly understand what Christmas is all about now.

And better yet, we can treat every day like Christmas. We can wake up and continually give our lives to others, so the lives of others can be full of joy and hope. And in giving, we receive the greatest tranquility. I don’t know about you, but having someone else’s face light up at a gift I give them is so much more fulfilling than opening something of my own.

Yes, the Holiday’s are just about over. But the spirit can live on, and it can live through you each and every day.

Long live the spirit of Christmas!

Xoxo,

Ash