Christmas has come and gone; however, I hope the spirit of Christmas will not fade away with all the decorations.

Nothing seems to change the human heart like the spirit of Christmas. What other holiday inspires people to stop at the homeless mission on the way home to donate to the poor, or causes people to pick up an extra turkey to give to a soup kitchen before sitting down to eat at their own feast?

What other holiday causes people to dump the content of their wallets into a little red kettle before entering a store to buy something for themselves, or pick a name off a tree in the mall to help a needy family?

We are fortunate to have so many churches that open their doors and share in the spirit through dramas, concerts, hay rides and caroling. One church even canceled its service on Christmas day so the congregation could spend the day with residents of a local nursing home.

At Christmas, people always seem to have enough room at their table for one more, even if that one more might be a stranger. Christmas helps us break our routines and takes the focus off of us and places it on others.

You’ve got to love it.

The Rev. Douglas Taylor, Lewiston