December 22, 2025 by D. Paul Graham

Ever curious and always amused by the quirks of life, join D. Paul Graham each Monday for more M5T pondering.

**“Sisters Together At Christmas”, Photo by D. Paul Graham, Atlanta Zoo, circa 2021**

Christmas never waits for life to be tidy. It arrives no matter what, right on schedule for each of us, whether the year has been triumphant, difficult, or simply exhausting. That’s part of its quiet genius. Christmas doesn’t ask us to present a highlight reel. It asks us to be present. Gratitude, becomes less about counting blessings and more about recognizing grace that is often hidden in plain sight, often disguised as ordinary moments that somehow carry extraordinary weight. This morning’s M5T is a homage to the spirit, grace, faith, and thankfulness that is found in the day we call Christmas.

1. THANKFUL FOR LIGHT THAT DOESN’T ASK PERMISSION. Christmas light is stubborn. It insists on showing up in the longest nights of the year, as if to say darkness doesn’t get the final word. Candles flicker. Trees glow. Stars reappear. And none of it asks whether we’re ready. I’m grateful for that kind of light. The kind that finds us when we’re weary, uncertain, or limping toward the end of a long year. It reminds me that hope is not dependent on my performance. Sometimes illumination arrives not because we’ve earned it, but because love refuses to leave us in the dark.

2. THANKFUL FOR THE PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE HOME. Home is not just a place. It’s a feeling. It’s the deep exhale when certain people walk into the room. The ones who know your history and still pull up a chair. Christmas has a way of sharpening our awareness of relationships. Those we treasure, those we miss, and those we’re learning to love better. I’m thankful for the people who remind me who I am when I forget, who laugh with me, challenge me, and forgive me. These relationships are not seasonal decorations. They are the foundation of a life well lived.

3. THANKFUL FOR DAILY BREAD, NOT JUST HOLIDAY FEASTS. The Christmas table may be fuller, but most of life is lived on regular Tuesdays. I’m grateful for the steady provision that doesn’t sparkle but sustains. Work that gives purpose, health that allows movement, creativity that still flows, and breath that arrives without effort. Gratitude deepens when we notice the unseen platform holding our lives together. Christmas invites us to recognize that abundance isn’t always loud. Often, it’s quiet, consistent, and faithful, showing up day after day like manna in the wilderness.

4. THANKFUL FOR MEMORIES, AND THE MAKING OF NEW ONES. Christmas is layered. Joy sits beside grief without apology. Memories come rushing back. Some warm, some tender, and some unfinished. I’m thankful for the stories that shaped me and the people who remain present in memory even when they are absent in body. At the same time, I’m grateful for the permission to create new traditions, new laughter, new rhythms. Holding onto both is an act of love. Christmas teaches us that remembering the past and moving forward are not opposing forces. They are partners in a rich and full life.

5. THANKFUL FOR THE SAVIOR WHO CAME TO US. The heart of Christmas is not spectacle, but proximity. A God who chose nearness over distance. Vulnerability over power. Presence over perfection. I’m grateful for a faith that doesn’t demand that I must earn my way into eternity through works but simply asks that I receive the love Christ freely offers. Thankful that He meets me exactly where I am. Raw, imperfect, and trying to live my faith, even when I fall short. In a world that rewards strength, certainty, and polish, Christmas whispers a different truth. Love enters quietly, wrapped in humility, and changes everything from the inside out. And that kind of grace is not seasonal. It’s sustaining.

Whether your Christmas is loud or quiet, joyful or complicated, may you meet it with an unwrapped heart and the profound gift of presence and wonder. Wishing you all a blessed Christmas with family, friends, and the simple beauty of being together.

Paul continues to seek grace through faith.

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