Thank You Military, Emergency, Healthcare and Entertainers

Merry Christmas and thank you to all of the military, emergency, healthcare, and entertainment staff and professionals for keeping us safe, healthy and entertained as we enjoy Christmas at home with our families and friends.  As I'm home today watching my children open gifts and chow down on Christmas cuisine, I know if another tornado struck my house, the local rescue workers, police and national guard would show up to make sure my family is sheltered appropriately.  If I burn the ham and start a fire, the firemen would come help put it out.   If a child decides to choke on a candy cane or has an overstimulated-sugared-yuletide-hyperactivity-injury needing medical attention, the emergency room staff is there and ready cast a broken bone or mend the gushing wound.  What can I say about the military men and women, not at home in foreign land?  I feel safe at home.  My debt of gratitude goes beyond what I know how to express you;  your struggle is our struggle and I remember you this Christmas and pray for you regularly.  And finally, what would Christmas be without a football game, radio or television?  The after dinner recliner pancreatic coma would not hold the same bliss without a good game which hopefully the military get to see as well!  I'll be home for Christmas this year, safe and entertained because others have sacrificed.  Meditating on how my safety and joy today has largely been created by the sacrifice of people I do not know, helps me to see the world as a better place that maybe isn't so broken.

Whatever you find yourself doing or feeling today at Christmas, remember those who are working and sacrificing, away from their family and friends and perhaps you too may see how Christ has made our world a better place that maybe isn't so broken.  Merry Christmas!