There is a spot along the highway between Mobile and Montgomery where the smell of burning leaves is unmistakable. This smell always brings a specific memory to my mind. It is from my Grandmother’s yard on a brisk fall day. My siblings, one cousin and my aunt, along with my Grandmother were raking and then burning, fall leaves. That was before being “green” was in and leaves were the enemy.

            I mention this because as we go through the holidays (any holiday) and we take time to visit or call family members--realize that all those people in your life will not always be there. I would love to revisit that moment and rake some leaves with them again. Sometimes getting together to visit family is a pain. The travel, staying in a home that is unfamiliar, hanging with people that you didn’t choose but are related to or married into can sometimes make you think that visiting family is unimportant. But it is not. God put us in families.

            As families become more mobile, it can become more difficult and expensive to see family even one time a year. But, take the time anyway. It is tiring, its stressful, but it is worth it. They need to know you and spend a little time with you. Young’uns out there—those older folks in your life really do want to see you and talk to you, even if only for a few minutes. Take time to ask them how a food dish is prepared--or chat about a time you spent time with them in earlier years. It will make their day. And, at some point in the future, you will savor a great memory.

            Lastly, remember those who are missing people or face strained family relationships this Christmas. Holidays make that loss more pointed and painful. Merry Christmas is easy to say and hard to “be” sometimes. But I will say it anyway: Merry Christmas everyone. “Merry” means happy and cheerful, feeling joy. Sometimes that does not categorize our mood at all. But, we can be “merry” in our heart because the source of joy is the Creator God who gave us this life, this Christmas, to live and enjoy.

[PHOTO: me making coleslaw for my mom for a family dinner]