Are Christmas cares a yearly tradition in your family?. For me, they are a time to reach out and reconnect with people that I haven’t seen or talked to in a long time. I want them to know they are still on my mind and in my heart. Not everyone is on social media theses days, and I’ve never been good at writing letters, so once a year I actually look forward to popping cards into envelopes, slapping on some stamps and sticking them in the mailbox. I almost enjoy it as much as I enjoy getting cards from everyone one else.
But what to do with all those cards you collect year after year. They are so full of love and holiday cheer, and beautiful memories it seems wasteful to throw them away. I’ve been collecting cards for years, just waiting for something fun to do with them. I recently met a cool gal (who also happens to be the author of the kids book The Traveling Wisemen), and she had one interesting idea I may just have to adopt.
Her family attaches the cards to a ring and pulls them out every night to pray over the families they received the cards from. What a cool way to get your kiddos involved in praying over others. It can be hard for kids to think about the needs of people they don’t regularly see (or even the needs of people they see all the time), but a little creativity and you have a prayer book and some evening family time just like that.
As if that wasn’t awesome enough, the following year when she receives a new card from a family, she takes off the old card and writes a note to them about the praying they’ve been doing. She then sends the card back to the family in the mail. She says there are plenty of interesting conversations that come out of getting your old Christmas card back in the mail; I can only imagine. But anything to get you reconnecting with friends and family, and remembering the reason for the season, is all good in my book.
Merry Christmas from the Miller family! Thank you for all your Christmas cards, and we look forward to praying over you all year long.
