To all my friends and family

To all my friends and family. It's great to see and hear the moral angst when talking with people about Christmas and new years. Seasons Greetings, joyeaux Noel, Best of the season, May you know the joy of the season, Happy holidays etc. When I talk to business people or people in stores by phone or e-mail, you can hear it in the tone, that some people don't know how to respond or are uncomfortable with the whole politically correct thing to say. Interestingly enough, I've had conversations and e-mails from India and China, from Hindus and muslims and atheists and they all seem quite comfortable with the whole "Merry Christmas," thing. It doesn't bother me to be open about saying Merry Christmas and the people I talk to are not offended in the least.
Back when I was working in a children's treatment centre, I was told that you don't give physical touch to the children because it might be interpreted wrongly or I might open myself up to allegations of inappropriate touching. The problem was, I felt the children needed a hug from an adult because many of them had been abused by their parents or siblings. Many did not know what appropriate touch was. They were not used to someone giving them affection or touch appropriately. I felt part of the problem was the kids needed someone to love them, and give them the things that every child needs - unconditional love. I told my superiors what was happening- every time I came to work the children would run up to me and give me a hug. It was something that started with an especially damaged kid that was abused by his father. The boy needed someone to love him unconditionally, and I was that person. He came to me and held my hand when we went for walks and when we played games or sports he would run up to me and give me a hug. I never rejected him or made fun of him and soon other children started doing the same thing. Some of them started asking me about God and asked me to take them to church and tell them about Jesus. My supervisor was not especially happy about it but I said "If someone asks me, I'm going to tell them."
It wasn't long before the whole tenor of the centre changed. Many of the staff started giving hugs to the kids because they saw the value of hugging the kids.
I think my point is this. If you are open and honest about your faith, people will respond. If you try and shove it down their throats, you are going to get resistance. I hope we will all be open with our faith  with people we know and people we casually meet at the grocery store. If that is who you are, all of the time, then saying Merry Christmas or talking about God or Jesus, won't be so difficult the next time you meet someone. You don't have to be obnoxious about it, just consistent, and loving.