Quote of the day:
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” —Calvin Coolidge
Consider:
Some years ago a popular song was the ballad, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree." There is an old Christmas story which pre-dates the song, but it tells of a similar homecoming.
In that tale, a young runaway boy is returning home on Christmas Eve by train. He has written ahead to tell his parents he wants to come back, but he isn't sure that he will be welcomed. The train runs right by the boy's home, so he has asked his father to tie a red cloth on the big elm at the back of the farm, to signal him.
When he is yet a few miles away, the runaway shares his anxiety with an older man sitting next to him. The man says he knows the teenager will be as welcome as another young man who ran off one time. Then he tells him Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son which is found in the Bible.
Sure enough, when the train reached the old homestead, the father's red signal was out. But instead of one banner, there were dozens of red flags waving in the wind, one from every conceivable branch, shouting the news to a runaway boy that all was forgiven at Christmas.
Christmas is a time for healing
When dis-agreers and disagreements meet,
When longtime wounds are mended
And love moves hatred to retreat.
Make this Christmas a time for forgiving and forgetting old grudges.
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