I have been home for the last three weeks and it's has been so marvelous. Everyone asks me what my family does for Christmas, like Southerners live in a different little world with strange customs all the time, and I have a hard time making my Christmas sound as awesome as it is. "We go to my aunt and uncle's and celebrate and eat food. Lots of food." It doesn't sound as wonderful as it really is. It's not my aunt and uncle's hunting-based menu that is the reason I love coming home for Christmas. I love coming home for Christmas because of the card games, the laughter, how my family can make me feel like such an idiot, but still loved beyond compare. It's about having long conversations with my grandma, asking my grandfather how long he's been married and having him tell me "as long as she has." It's the late nights playing video games with my cousin and catching up with my brothers. It's singing and watching Doctor Who with my dad and making my mom laugh. It's hearing my grandma choke up over saying how thankful she is for Jesus' sacrifice. Christmas is about love, because we celebrate the greatest love story ever - the story of God's love for us shown through the gift of His Son. And that's what my family represents. That's why the last few weeks have been the best ever, and why coming back to Toronto will be great as well. Because I'm surrounded by people who love me and whom I love. At any given point in time I only get to see some of the people I love, and not because I can't have them all over at the same time, but because everyone lives in a different place. I have to enjoy who I'm with when I'm with them because time is short. I live a traveling life. So, this is to everyone who's loved ones are close by - love them. Enjoy your time with them. Let God's love be the example for your love and be quick to forgive, slow to anger, and use every chance to show or tell someone you love them. Because you never know when God will tell you that you're to live out of a suitcase for a few years.
