By the time you read this, I hope you’ve eaten yourself into a new clothing size! I hope the feast you had produced a tryptophan-induced coma (a.k.a. turkey nap). I hope you loved seeing all the folks who make you smile profusely and laugh out loud.

So now it begins. The Season. It may be filled with joy and peace, or it may have some anxiety attached to it. Will we see an end to lock-downs and viruses? Will we all open our gifts via Zoom? Remember those cameras show more than you think. Uncle Fred, put your pants on, please!

In a year where we’ve experienced the lowest lows and, well, more of the lowest lows… we probably need some cheer. Whether this stuff ends and things go back to “normal” or not, let’s choose now—this very day—nothing will get between us and celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus! We will make 2020 the best Christmas ever. We will bake cookies. We will watch Hallmark movies. We will lavishly love our families. We will be kind to strangers and each other.

Only then will we overcome the unkindness visited upon us in the forms of viruses, violence, and vitriol (how about that for alliteration?). Maybe, just maybe, this Christmas might turn out to be the very best part of 2020. So here are some questions for you to ponder throughout the next set of holidays:

• Who can I bless this Christmas with an unexpected gift?
• Which server can I leave a ridiculously large tip?
• What neighbor needs a secret Santa snack delivered to their porch?
• How many people can I surprise in the grocery store parking lot (and yes, it’ll be cold by then) by offering to return their carts to the cart thingy?
• Which of my coworkers might need a gift card left anonymously on their desk?

Whatever you do, may your deeds be so bright, they’ll be seen from space!