Christmas Greetings?

No, I haven’t completely lost it!  We’ve all heard of Christmas in July; well, this is my Christmas cards in May.

Every holiday, as the Christmas cards begin rolling in, I have a big basket that I toss them into.  I always read the card and the signature and most of the time I also read any enclosed Christmas letters.  But, as we all can attest, it gets a bit hectic around the holidays and there isn’t always time to read the dozen Christmas letters that land on the same day.

So for that reason and for any possible address changes, I keep the cards in this big basket until after Christmas, with the intention of reviewing them later.  Theoretically, it’s a job that could/should be done in early January.  I’m not typically a procrastinator, but this seems to be an area that I can’t get to in a timely manner…ever.

Last week I FINALLY sat down with the basketful and carefully reviewed each card and letter, one by one. I expected it to be a fairly tedious, monotonous job – much like I felt in the previous years.  By the way, I think July is the latest I’ve ever gone through the cards!

I’m not sure what was different about this year, but I found myself extra blessed as I reread the greetings from my friends and family.  Not only was I blessed by the individual cards and words, but I was actually a bit overwhelmed by the wide scope of “friend/family sources” and the longevity of some of these friendships. The reading of the cards and letters took me down a zillion memory lanes.

Here are some of those “friend/family sources:”

• Hometown friends whose friendships began anywhere from pre-school through high school
• Neighborhood friends – from Pella in the 1960s to Urbandale today
• College friends from across the country
• One friend from my 7-month stint in Wales my senior year of college
• One friend I met at some technical training for the Bell System when I first started my career in 1979.
• People I’ve met at virtually every job I’ve held with the probable exceptions of Super Valu and the Pella Corp. factory!
• Church friends from Pella and every church we ever attended since those early days. Some are decades-old relationships and others barely a few years old.
• Cousins and other family members scattered across the country
• Dale’s family, including his elderly cousins, also scattered across the country
• Dale’s “biker friends,” who also became my friends
• New widow friends
• Extended family members of friends
• Friends of friends
• Music-related friends
• Golf-related friends
• Friends of my dogs (that’s right!)

Isn’t that amazing?  I bet you all could have a remarkably similar list.  I was struck with the totality of what my friend circle looked like.  Sure, there are many friendships that have changed over time, and many of these relationships have become a “Christmas-only” contact, but regardless of how close the current relationship is, there was a time when we were an important part of each other’s lives.

The reading of the cards brought a huge smile to my heart and I was reminded of the breadth and depth of one of my greatest blessings – my friendships.  It’s so easy to take this one for granted and I believe God used this annual spring/summer card tradition to figuratively shake me up and remind me that God has faithfully placed precious friends throughout my life for a season, for a reason, or for a lifetime.

What about you?  Have you ever taken a friend inventory, of sorts?  The quantity and even the variety of sources isn’t the important element here.  It’s the depth of your relationships, and the precious memories your long-ago friendships have brought to you.

I pray you’ll take a moment to look through your address book, or phone contacts and marvel at how God has brought these friend-gifts to you into your life over decades.

Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Proverbs 27:9