What If...

Christmas - the Old English dictionary defines it as "Christ's Mass". However, as I drive through the traffic each day, listen to horns honking, hear how much people spend on gifts ($1,200 from one of my co-workers), watch the impatience, read the signs of those standing on street corners and become more distraught over the commercialization of Christmas I have begun to wonder how much Christ occupies the season of Christmas.

Yes, I am a Christian and I believe that Christ exists, but somehow when we begin to shop for Christmas in June, put up Christmas trees in November and spend money we do not have on things people do not need I have begun to wonder how much "Christ" is still part of the celebration of "Christmas". I have been thinking...

What If...

• Families ate Christmas dinner together, around a table, with the TV off
• Rather than eating a huge Christmas dinner you served dinner to someone who was only able to eat once a day
• The $1,200 spent on Christmas was donated to an organization working to make a difference in the world
• Barbara Walters' 10 most fascinating people of 2011 did not feature the Kardashian's, celebrities or any other person regaled in the headlines; but rather focused on the people working to pay their bills every month, provide an education for their children, those doing the jobs the rest of us are not willing to do
• We stopped watching reality TV shows and started living in the real world
• Rather than interacting with technology we interacted with our friends and loved ones surrounding us
• We said we were sorry, accepted responsibility and forgave
• Rather than send out cards we called those people
• Instead of wrapping gifts we planted a tree

Whether you believe in Christ or not, there is still meaning surrounding this time of year and I wonder what the world would look like if we simply embraced the meaning.