I’m grateful for people who enjoy the holiday season — the ones whose joy becomes contagious even when you’re not naturally festive yourself.
Each year around this time, my wife fully embraces the holiday spirit. It used to start a couple of weeks before Christmas. Now, she’s decorating the house the day after Halloween. And while I love this season, I’m not the person who gets excited about seeing all the ornaments, garland, and twinkling lights go up.
But I am deeply aware of the atmosphere her joy creates. When I walk into a house with soft jazz or a symphony playing, a beautifully lit tree, and all the little touches that say, “it’s the holidays,” something in me exhales. It shifts the mood — not just of the house, but of my spirit.
The other day a guy came over for a meeting, and he couldn’t stop talking about the life-size nutcrackers we have outside. He said he’d never seen one taller than him. Seeing his delight made me smile. It reminded me that sometimes God sends other people’s joy to lift our own.
I’m grateful for people like that — people who usher in cheer, who create beauty and warmth, and who remind us to slow down long enough to feel something good.
A lesser-known book — but a needed reminder that joy is a ministry all its own.