The timeless message of the Nativity

Among my fondest childhood Christmas memories are the times I spent sharing with others.

Each year, the youth group at my church drove around the county singing carols to nursing home residents. We spent a week visiting families who couldn’t afford gifts or food, bringing presents and bags of donated groceries. These visits were a real eye-opener. I had no idea how some people were forced to live.

Meeting the residents in nursing homes also helped me see that just because a person was older or disabled didn’t mean they were different from me. No matter what separated us, we were more alike than not.

I had the same experience in college. It is difficult to maintain prejudices when you share jokes and stories and eat meals with others. People from various backgrounds became some of my closest friends.

The meaning of Christmas is embodied in the story of the Nativity. It’s the story of a poor young couple traveling a long distance hoping to find safe harbor in the kindness of strangers. Because someone helped, the world was given a symbolic new beginning. The story is reborn for anyone open to its timeless message.

Perhaps that message has never been timelier than at this moment in our nation’s history.

Joe Elliott

Arden, N.C.

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