True satisfaction in Christ

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalms 90:14)

With twelve days left until Christmas, we all should admit that no amount of pipers piping, milking maids, or golden rings will ever make us happy. Well, okay. Many people would be quite content to find five golden rings under their Christmas tree, but my point is, material happiness never lasts. The only real and lasting happiness we will ever find comes from the intangible, indescribable gift of knowing Christ as our Savior. 

We all have memories of special Christmas gifts we received, growing up. For me, my favorite Christmas presents were my Fisher-Price toys. How I loved adding a new item to my collection each year. I had the house, garage, school, barn, hospital, village, airport, and even the castle – complete with a horse-drawn carriage and dragon. While it may seem strange to play with a castle alongside an airport, in my make-believe world, it was perfectly normal. I delighted in setting everything up on our living room floor and combining everything together. Such memories are treasures to me.

I will never forget the year that I “happened” to find my Fisher-Price Village before Christmas. As jubilant as my initial discovery made me, I soon learned that anticipation is part of what makes the season so magical . That year, I vowed to never again look for gifts before Christmas. To this day, I’m a stickler for waiting to open presents until December 25th. 

Nowadays, I enjoy doing and giving to others much more than receiving gifts. One particular enjoyment I have each December is serving as a Bell Ringer for The Salvation Army. 

This year, with COVID, we were given masks to wear as we stood by the kettle. Since I was outside, I hoped to get away without covering my face and did so for the first half-hour of my duty. I was having a grand time until the store manager came out and sternly told me I needed to put on my mask. 

“Even though I’m outside?” I queried. 

“Yes,” she responded. So much for smiling my good cheer as I rang my bell. 

I put on my mask but doing so seemed to tangibly cover my joy. The provided face-covering was tight and made it hard for me to say “Merry Christmas” and “God bless you” as shoppers entered and exited the store. No one can see my smile, I thought. How can they tell if I’m happy? 

Determined to “smile” through my second bell ringing experience, I wore a mask I had purchased at the start of the pandemic. The pink face-covering boasted a white-lined smile. They may not see the real thing, I mused, but at least there’s a smile on my face. 

My happiness demonstration overcome, my next difficulty proved to be a missing bell, since the store was unable to locate the iconic symbol. As the first Bell Ringer of the day, I set up the kettle and puzzled over what to do. It’s hard to be a Bell Ringer without a bell, after all. 

It doesn’t matter, I thought, I have my music, and that will be enough. I always bring a Bluetooth speaker to this activity and tune my phone to “Rockin’ Holidays Radio” on Pandora. The music is my way of adding to the atmosphere and spreading holiday cheer. This time, standing still without a bell didn’t seem to be an option, so I tentatively began to dance along to the music. 

To my delight, people responded to my smiling face mask, peppy music, and silly dance moves as time progressed. I lost my previous inhibition and became caught up in the atmosphere as people started dancing along – commenting that I was getting them in the holiday spirit. “I really like how you changed things up with your music and dancing,” one woman commented – causing me to broaden my smile, behind the mask.  

Another passerby asked me where my bell was. To my shrugged shoulders and uplifted hands, he responded, “You are the bell! Keep it up!” I was more than happy to oblige. 

Way too often, we consume ourselves with the things that we don’t have – Christmas gifts we didn’t receive, a missing bell, or other tangible items we’ve convinced ourselves that we need when we really don’t. How much more satisfying would our lives be if we stopped to thank God for all the blessings we do have? Good health, sunshine, laughter, and love – such things are priceless and provide longer-lasting joy than any material items can provide. We are blessed beyond measure and need to remember the bounty that God has bestowed upon us. 

Right now, approximately 4,600 homeless people are living in Savannah, praying for overnight shelter in a facility that The Salvation Army or other organization can provide to them. Tomorrow morning, they will be asked to leave for the day while the facility is cleaned. Many of them may eventually move to live beneath bridges or in one of the homeless communities around our area. These individuals don’t have the peace and comfort of knowing where their next meal is coming from, let alone where they can lay their heads for the night. 

I have a home, food, job, good health – and more blessings than I deserve. How trivial it seems to fuss over a little thing like a missing bell while collecting money for the less fortunate.  

There is much for me to be grateful for this Christmas. Most of all, I am loved by a God who is slow to anger and perpetually willing to forgive me for my foolishness. I have true satisfaction in Christ, and there are 10,000 reasons for my heart to sing – and dance – through the holiday season and beyond.

Visit The Salvation Army’s website to learn more about their ministry and consider giving to the Red Kettle campaign, as you are able to.