Are You Fishing For Some Christmas Joy?

Christmas is a lot like fishing. No, really, it is! If you love to fish, you have to make time to go fishing. You have to take a break from work, and worries and all the things that demand your time and attention to actually go fishing. It’s the same with Christmas celebrations. You have to take time and find still moments and quiet spaces in the midst of a busy world to revere the reason we celebrate Christmas. Otherwise you may end up like the innkeeper in the Christmas story…too busy to catch the spirit of Christmas.

Good fishermen listen. They hear the wind and the water and the movement around them so they can track and catch the fish they seek. To find the joy of Christmas you have to listen to the right forecast. You have to tune out the radio holiday playlist, ignore the mall Santas, turn off the commercials and claims that this gadget or that gift will perfect your holiday and listen for the chorus of Christmas. The true joy and peace is found in the small voice of a child singing carols or the laugh of your loved one, or maybe the holiday wish from a friend. The Christmas message may not be as loud as the bad news and gloomy outlook screaming out for our attention, but if you listen carefully enough you too will hear the angels announcing tidings of peace and joy just like the shepherds did long ago.

We all know it’s called fishing, not catching for a reason. Sometimes you fish all day and just catch nothing. Sometimes you just sit and enjoy the sunrise, watch the porpoises play and feed the pelicans because no fish are biting. Bringing sanity and serenity to Christmas is much the same as that tough day of fishing. Sometimes you cook and decorate and buy and wrap and gift and still can’t seem to catch the Christmas spirit. New toys break, the tinsel fades, and the tree will soon be kindling. The meal may not be perfect, and the gifts may not be just right, but if you catch time together it is time well spent. The present of presence will never be the wrong size. Loving time invested in just being with someone never breaks, and you never have to keep the receipt to return the time given to playing a game or sharing a meal or giving of yourself to others. It will be returned to you in full, no receipt required. Just like the gifts of the Wisemen, gifts of self are always a perfect fit.

There is a country song about a daddy taking his little girl fishing. They talk of many things and he teaches her how to tie a line and bait a hook and finally to catch a fish. He is sharing much more than fishing with his daughter. She gains much more than dinner. They both benefit and their relationship is strengthened. The chorus says, ‘she thinks we’re just fishing.’ But it is much more. Celebrating Christmas is just the same as sharing great fishing. You need to share it, you need to teach it, you need to tell about it, and you need to know that it will mean more to your life than new socks or a few days off of work near the end of December. A baby was born that changed the world, and celebrating Him can change your outlook and impact those around you. So, if you want to catch the Christmas spirit, find the joy of the season, see the star in your own sky, look no farther than a good fishermen would look. Just like fish, Christmas is everywhere. It is up to you to bait your hook then cast out your line and find it.

Grandpa and Grandson – Still moments and quiet places