Keeping the Spirit Alive

Good day, my friends. If you’ve been watching the world around you, you might have noticed something magical this time of year. It’s the season when hearts grow a little larger, hands open a little wider, and smiles seem just a bit brighter. People step out of their routines to give—of their time, their money, their care. It’s Christmas. A time of giving. A time of love. A time of humanity.

But here’s the thing—poverty doesn’t pack up on December 26th. Homelessness doesn’t hibernate in January. Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation. And the bruises of domestic violence don’t fade with the New Year’s fireworks. The struggles of the world don’t have a season. So why should our compassion?

Each December, shelters are filled with volunteers serving warm meals. Charities receive enough donations to overflow their coffers. Children who might otherwise wake to an empty tree find toys to unwrap. But when the lights come down and the ornaments are tucked away, the lines at the soup kitchens don’t get shorter. The children still need coats for the biting cold, still need meals for empty stomachs. And the shelters? They’re still filled with faces that tell stories of hardship and heartbreak.

What if we—all of us—decided that the Christmas spirit wasn’t a December exclusive? What if generosity, empathy, and care became part of the fabric of our everyday lives? What if the best of who we are during the holidays became who we are every day of the year?

Consider this: in December, we give because we see the need. But need is not an exclusive resident of Christmas. The man on the corner asking for help will still be there in February. The mother balancing bills and tears will still be struggling in April. The child longing for just one meal they don’t have to skip will still be hungry in July. Their stories don’t change with the seasons, but maybe… our response can.

Keeping the Christmas spirit alive all year doesn’t require grand gestures or monumental changes. It starts with small, deliberate acts of kindness. It’s noticing the single mom at the grocery store, quietly putting a little extra in her cart when she’s not looking. It’s stopping by the shelter in the springtime, when volunteer lists are sparse and warm meals are still needed. It’s checking in on the elderly neighbor when the summer heat becomes unbearable. It’s a handshake, a warm meal, a few kind words—the things that cost us so little but mean so much.

The beauty of Christmas is the way it brings out our shared humanity. It’s a time when we remember that we are not just individuals living separate lives, but a community bound together by threads of compassion and hope. Yet this unity, this spirit of giving, doesn’t belong to December alone. Imagine the world we could create if we carried that same spirit into every single day.

What if the outpouring of toys for children didn’t end on Christmas morning? What if we adopted classrooms in March, provided books in June, and filled backpacks in September? What if shelters didn’t struggle to fill shifts in February? What if we looked at our communities not as places to live but as places to lift?

And what of our children, who learn by watching us? What lessons do they carry forward if they see compassion boxed up with the decorations? Let us teach them that kindness isn’t seasonal, that giving isn’t occasional, and that love is perpetual.

It’s not easy. Life is busy, bills pile up, and sometimes we feel like we’re just holding on ourselves. But here’s the secret: generosity doesn’t empty us; it fills us. Empathy doesn’t weaken us; it strengthens us. Caring doesn’t burden us; it lifts us. The joy of giving isn’t a Christmas miracle. It’s a human one.

So this year, when the holiday cheer fades and the lights dim, don’t pack away the spirit of Christmas. Let it stay. Let it breathe life into your January mornings and your August afternoons. Let it shape your steps and color your words. Be the person who gives in July, who cares in September, who loves in November. And watch what happens.

Because the truth is, the Christmas spirit isn’t a date on the calendar. It’s a decision we make. A decision to see the world’s needs, to meet them with open hearts and willing hands, and to do it not because it’s Christmas, but because it’s right.

And in the infamous words of Paul Harvey, "And now, you know… the rest of the story."