Traditions

 I can't remember when we first watched The Grinch on television. It may have been in 1966 when it first came out. I do remember my wife and I sitting in a motel room around 1968 watching it on the TV. I was in the Navy and could not come home for Christmas. She flew out to California for a week to spend Christmas with me, and we watched the Christmas specials together. We've never failed to watch The Grinch since then. When it came on the other night our daughter called to make sure we knew it was on so we quickly changed the channel to watch it.

At one point I mentioned to my wife that there was one scene that used to be the spot for the commercial break, but they had taken the commercial break a little sooner. Another point in the show I noticed that one scene had been cut out. We laughed at how we had watched this show so many times we recognized the small changes between this presentation and previous ones.

We are thankful for the traditions that our family has developed over the years. Those traditions are special only to our family, but they serve to remind us of the years we've spent together. Traditions become glue that binds a family together. They are the memories one has of the past that brings a smile to the face and become the stories that are told when a loved one passes.

My wife's family had a tradition on Thanksgiving morning. The men in her family went rabbit hunting on her father's farm. That tradition is no more. I am the only one still alive from that tradition, but I can assure you that early on this past Thanksgiving morning I thought about those mornings we would all gather for our annual hunt. It brought back a lot of happy memories.

I hope your family has some traditions that you observe on a regular basis. Even the ones that seem rather insignificant can result in some great memories and become part of your legacy. While some traditions will change over time, new ones can be created to take their place.

One tradition that every family needs is to attend church regularly. While Christmas specials and rabbit hunts can become wonderful traditions, nothing will impact your family's life more than being involved in your local church. A loving congregation committed to a relationship with Jesus Christ and to one another will be a source of comfort and transformation.

If attending and being involved in a church is not part of your family's traditions, I encourage you to consider making it so in the coming year.