to refresh their spirits at the Fountain of Faith. We hope each may find renewed inspiration in the story of the birth of Christ, and that they may draw strength and purpose from His teachings and example.
We wish that, in this season of fulfillment, we may find joy in giving to the less fortunate.....
particularly to the children for whom this is a season of hope.
We wish that, in this period of frantic search for material gifts, we may remember that the most
enduring and priceless gifts are those of forbearance and forgiveness, loyalty and service, friendship and love, compassion, mercy, and understanding.
The greatest gift to our children is the gift of Faith.....an appreciation of the marvelous and
bounteous gifts of Nature....the sure knowledge that a world so full of beauty, with human
beings with such great capacity for creativity, for generosity and tenderness, for nobility and
self-sacrifice, and such a wonderful adjustment of complex forces and many forms of life....
that all of these could not have "just happened" without reason. And that, if there be Reason
for all of this, there must be a Master Plan, and if there be a Master Plan, there must be a
Master Planner.
Let us give our children faith as we give them food....to believe in a Great Spirit who loves
the beings to whom He has given life...to believe that He will not let us pass into oblivion....
that He will not let us live and love today, only to become a senseless pile of ashes tomorrow.
In this season, let us cultivate the habit of looking at our fellow men with new eyes....to see
them as fellow travelers on a lonely journey, driven by the need to survive, fearful and hopeful, trying to probe the darkness beyond whose outer limits reason alone cannot penetrate.
May the spirit of Christmas touch us all with the sense of our common human weakness, our
common destination, and the immortality of the spirit symbolized and promised by the death
and resurrection of the Christ whose birthday we now celebrate.
************************************************
This was written by my father, Colonel Conrad G. Follansbee, Sr. USA-Ret, in December, 1968, as an editorial in the Monthly Newsletter of the Chamber of Commerce of Winchester, VA. I thought that his sense of the meaning of Christmas should be shared.
We saw a few snowflakes a day or so ago and were reminded of how blessed we are to be warm, safe, and not wanting of food. The New Year will continue to oblige our country and its citizens to confront many challenges that, at the moment, seem almost insurmountable. If we accept the spirit of Christmas, we will prevail.
Betty and Conrad (Red) Follansbee
22201 Shannondell Dr.
Audubon, PA 19403-5658
610 382-9247
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