Is it the sounds of Christmas?
Christmas carolers and Christmas music
The crinkle of wrapping paper
The bells of the street corner Santas collecting money
A Christmas greeting from strangers and loved ones
Christmas stories and books read aloud
Crunching of snow beneath your feet
Santa's Ho Ho Ho
Laughter of children
Or is it the smells of Christmas?
Fresh baked cookies and pies
Steaming hot apple cider
Homemade cinnamon ornaments
Scented candles burning
A freshly cut pine tree
Hot cups of creamy cocoa
Wet boots from playing in the snow
Fireplace burning
Maybe it's the sights of Christmas?
The colored blinking lights
The holly with bright red berries
Snowmen built with care
Christmas movies
Stars shining bright
Bows and ribbons
Gifts galore
Freshly fallen snow
A live nativity scene
Stores and streets decorated with red and green
Smiles on faces of those you love
Or is it the touch of Christmas?
A child sitting on Santa's lap
Soft Christmas stockings to reach into
Snuggling under a warm blanket
The heat of a fireplace burning
Snow to play in
Hugs from your loved ones
Sweaters that keep you warm and cozy
Opening that special gift or card
And last, we have the taste of Christmas
Marshmallows for toasting
A tall glass of eggnog
A fresh batch of fudge
Popcorn
Cookies hot from the oven
Candy
The best homemade pies
Turkey roasted to perfection
Snowflakes falling on your tongue
Feasting with your family and friends
Isn't it amazing how our senses work? With one smell, one touch, one sound, one sight, one taste, we can instantly be transported back in time to a place we knew and loved. God designed us so intricately and beautifully.
Can you choose just one sense you couldn't live without? Or do you need more than one to enjoy the Christmas season?
I found this to be a very intriguing question, if you could choose just one, what sense is most affected by the Christmas season? I shared it with my family and the results were varied. Everyone enjoys something different.
I couldn't decide between the smells and the sounds of Christmas. I feel that they all go together in one intricate package. You can't single out just one. I love the smell of hot apple cider, but I think it's because I know what it tastes like. They fit together. When you smell something, you can almost taste it and feel it.
God made us with five senses for a reason. They all fit together to make us experience life to the fullest. I can't imagine not having the use of one of my senses.
"I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance."
1 Corinthians 12: 19-24
"Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
My prayer for this Christmas season, and every season for that matter, is that we love each other. We all matter equally. None of us are better or worse than another. We each have a different function and a different purpose. Together we make a beautiful tapestry, intricately and beautifully woven together. God designed us to be together, to work as one.
Let's function the way we were built to function. We were created to love. Let's share our love with each other and see how we can serve others as this Christmas season comes upon us. I pray that we use all of our senses so that we can experience life the way God meant for us to.
What is your favorite sense during the Christmas season? What things do you love about this time of year? How can you use it to love and serve others?
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