Grace Among Family For The Holidays

During the holiday season, many people travel long distances and brave various types of weather in order to arrive at a destination that is linked to a family home.  Whether it is traveling to see your parents, brothers, sisters or other close family and friends, part of the reason that this season is so special, is that people are re-connecting to their loved ones that hold a special place in their heart.  Although the images of people shopping and excessive crowds at the malls and other stories permeate the public media outlets, most people will not remember what gift they received shortly after the culmination of this day.  What will be recalled is the time and effort that was spent in arriving to see those key individuals that make up their close circle of influential people in their lives, along with the memories that they were able to hug, sit close or talk for a long period of time about what has happened over the course of time, since the last holiday they may have seen each other.  It is in those moments that one feels truly connected to these people and the realization that word family is much more powerful than most people think.  In these particular occasions, I can recall those people that I have known through out my life, where they had either limited family or no longer had people that they could call to fulfill this special niche in their life.  We were brought into this world with a larger circle of people that by blood makes us related and with that are these people that look and speak like we do, that make one realize that your familial genes are well connected among these various unique individuals.  When I see my relatives, I see the many variations of my aunts and uncle that they represent.  Whether it is through their mannerisms or just plain looks I see all of them as an extension of a long legacy of people that came before us via different generations, which created this collage of people that are intertwined and collectively connected to who I am.  Every year that goes by, we realize that some of us had more challenges than others and some have to deal with life issues that include the loss of a dearly departed.  As one gets older the realization that more of your life has been lived that what is now left can be a sobering thought, which is why it then becomes more essential to treasure the moments that are spent with these individuals called family.  At these intervals we mark new milestones filled with new memories to carry us until the next time when see them again.   Time always seems to march forward rather fast and it can become more difficult to reconnect with family, especially those that do not reside near you.  It is in all of these moments that gratitude and thanksgiving are most present which allow us to experience the familial circle of these special individuals.  As the holiday season comes to a near conclusion, my wish is that people will realize that it is not about the actual gifts that they received or the many hours that were spent finding parking at a busy mall, along with the expenses that were made in order to make someone's holiday more special.  More importantly I hope that people take a moment to celebrate each other along with the realization that the grace of someone's presence with them, was truly the magical experience that one may have been hoping to find.  The ability to take a moment to connect or reconnect to those that mean the most to you is something to be cherished and one just has to take a moment to realize that others would love to have this opportunity that many of us take for granted.  May today provide you with plenty of opportunities to rejoice in those moments and may you feel the presence of true heartfelt bonding with your family, friends and loved ones during this magical holiday.