(a 3 minute read)  Jodi and Nathan are celebrating their first Christmas as a couple. It is the day before Christmas, and before the festivities and family gatherings ensue, they chose to take a bit of time to reflect on Christmas.

As Nathan loved to discuss life with Jodi, he enthusiastically leaned forwards in his chair and asked, “What do you think is the thing that people miss out on during this season?”

Jodi’s head leaned back with a gregarious laugh, “I’ll tell you what I think you and I miss out most during this season.” Nathan leaned back in his chair as he said, “Enlighten me my dear.”

Jodi became quite serious as she began to elaborate, “It is quite interesting that you ask this question, as I have been asking myself this same question lately. We celebrate the birth of a child tomorrow. We talk about this child coming amongst us. We sing and celebrate about a child is born. Then I remember that one of the many teachings this child emphasized, is to be like the children. Even as an adult, is to be like a child.”

Nathan leaned over the table and pitched in, “And isn’t this the biggest conundrum we have to figure out?”

Jodi had this peaceful look on her face and as she leaned forwards and extended her hands to cover Nathan’s hands, she continued, “I believe, for me, I now understand what this means. Think of my nephew Benji, and how often he asks to watch ‘Finding Nemo’, over and over again, day after day. The amazing thing is, Benji smiled, jumped, laughed and looked at me during the same parts of the movie, every time we’d watch it. Why? Why is that? Then it finally came to me. A child MARVELS at the same thing over and over again. It is this MARVELING that continues to supply a child with an endless stream of contentment, amazement, fulfillment, serenity, satisfaction and most of all JOY. Continual JOY.”

Nathan’s eyes were as wide as an ocean when his hands squeezed Jodi’s hands and said, “And we lose that marveling ever so slowly as we grow up. It simply disappears and as we get older we get filled with voids instead of fulfillment. We try to fill holes in our lives with ‘things’ rather than contentment. We end up with a vacuum and disappointments instead of Joy.”

Jodi was so excited that Nathan is getting her drift and continued, “You know how we always hear that all we need to do is look around us to see our Lord and Creator’s masterpiece? I asked myself, when was the last time I looked at a beautiful rose in the spring and truly ‘MARVELED’, or seen the dead tree branches in winter, or touched the rain when it fell, and truly ‘MARVELED’, or peered at the moon, the stars the sun or even at the bright yellow ‘M’ of McDonald’s, and truly ‘MARVELED’. The list goes on and on Nathan, and it is things we encounter every moment we have our eyes open!”

Nathan had tears in his eyes when he said, “Not only we need to TEACH ourselves to continually MARVEL lest we become like the children, that the child born tomorrow taught us, but more importantly let us work ever so diligently to help our own children NOT to lose their MARVELING as they grow older. If we MARVEL in their presence, they will learn how to continually MARVEL.”

Nathan stood up, walked around the table and gave Jodi a very tender and loving hug and whispered “Merry Christmas my dear.”