‘With every Christmas card I write… ’

I appreciate the opportunity to send Christmas cards out every year. It gives me a chance to express my appreciation to those people in my life who mean so much to me.

As I write each card, I think about the person or family who will receive my card, and it gives me a few moments when they occupy my thoughts, and they alone are the focus of my attention. While addressing the envelopes or writing little notes inside the card, or just signing my name, I remember some of the things about them that make them so special to me.

As I write my Christmas cards, I always think of the song “White Christmas” and the line that says, “With every Christmas card I write.” This song comes to mind EVERY time I do Christmas cards, and I think, “May your days be merry and bright.” (Since I am not really wild about snow, I eliminate the quest for all the Christmases to be white.)

I pray for peace among families, and for love in our hearts and in our world. My signature usually says, “Merry Christmas! Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and blessed New Year.”

Sending greeting cards is a way we can communicate our love and affection to others, our care and concern; and we benefit from these expressions to one another. Through them, we can convey our feelings of joy and celebration, sadness, sympathy, congratulations, or holiday greetings.

Some years I have just not gotten “with it” enough to get those Christmas cards out. It does take a lot of time to do them. I have a lot of family who live clear across the country, and it seems ridiculous to me to send a card to people I never see, and then just to sign my name with no note. The only thing that tells the recipient is, “I’m still alive.”

Sometimes this is all I really want them to know, but usually I want them to know a little about what has happened in my live during the past year. Facebook can help you communicate that, but a greeting card that has my fingerprints all over it is even better.

I know the cost of sending Christmas cards is high, and they continue to increase, but this tradition is so meaningful to me that I choose to allow this expense in my budget. I love to send the cards, and I dearly love to receive them. I get as excited about receiving a greeting card as I do when I receive a gift. They are very special to me.

So, if you received a Christmas card from me, it means I care about you, and I appreciate having you in my life. If you did not receive one, I still care about you, and I am thankful for you.

Here is my wish for you this Christmas. May you be blessed with peace and love in your hearts, and know that we have a God who loves us deeply and who sent His son to live with us; and his name is Jesus.

Merry Christmas to all!

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“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

— John 1:14