The holiday season in my world starts on Thanksgiving and ends on New Year’s Day. It’s a time of celebration for many special days. This year Thanksgiving was a little different for our family, as it was for many people due to Covid-19 concerns. Usually, everyone is at the dinner table, but not all of us made it this time. Thankfully, we all shared the same food and were together in spirit.
In between food preparation, children playing, and football games, there was one conversation about a video from social media. The person making the video was engaged in a highly emotional rant about another person’s behavior. I was surprised to hear such ugly talk of degradation and demand by the ranting person that the other person should do as the ranting person wanted.
Thanksgiving for many people in America is based on the Founding Fathers showing their appreciation for abundance and their praise for God. This video did not exemplify the spirit of the day or the season.
This made me think of how far we have journeyed from the beginning days when we respected freedom, self-reliance, and acceptance as standard principles. When we can’t see past ourselves, how do we discover humiliation, and how does gratitude settle in our soul without it?
We think of Christmas as giving presents. I’m wondering what our lives would look like if our present to others was a projection of gratitude, courtesy, respect, and love?
So, you may be asking, ‘what does all of this have to do with housing?’ It doesn’t. It’s just my prayer for the world. But, if you are looking for a really great gift, a new house is the one gift that keeps on giving every day of the year. Low mortgage rates and a strong economy easily opens the door for upgrading or downsizing. When you match your lifestyle with the ideal home, you will experience more happiness over the years and it’ll be a good investment too.
May you have fabulous holiday celebrations and a Merry Christmas!
Tony Ratchford
