A childs perspective...

So I kind of hemmed and hawed about writing on this topic. That is, until on our drive home tonight, my 13 year old brought up exactly what I had been thinking. And I promise, I won't always be so serious:) I was flipping through the channels on the radio (I have little patience for overplayed songs or commercials) when I came across one of our two local stations who have been playing 24 hour Christmas music since the first of November. I know all over facebook and twitter, people have been complaining for nearly a month about the Christmas items in the stores and the Christmas music before Thanksgiving, so I didn't want to add to the yapping. That is when a little thing happened to me, that tends to occur frequently-a little light bulb went off. I was walking through Walgreens yesterday, when I peeked down the Christmas aisle. A wave of peppermint washed over me, and, crazy as it may sound, the smell of tinsel. My heart instantly softened and my breathing slowed. Now I know it may sound nuts-I mean really, I am logical. I know the stores are hoping to use this need for Christmas in order to boost their sales and get us to increase our spending. But I realized something more. And this was echoed tonight in my daughters response to my changing of the station. She said, "Mommy, maybe people just need the hope of Christmas a little more and that is why they start everything earlier and earlier." She couldn't be more right. In an age where children are prey and few stand up for them-around the world and as evidenced so brutally this week in our own backyard-I think we are desperate spiritually for a simpler time. A time of hope. A time of peace. A time where our biggest concern was whether we were naughty or nice and if we got the part of the "good" shepherd in the church Christmas play. The internet has brought about many amazing things as well as shrunken our world. And with that has also come the realization that those Christmas dreams don't exist for every child. So maybe instead of a reminder of us to buy buy buy for those closest to us. Maybe my child is right-we look at it as an early reminder. A timely reminder that allows us time to make sure we seek out those in our community who need a little hope. A little peace. And a little love. Because while we first need to be Thankful for what we do have, we also need to take some time to prepare and help those who don't.