Great expectations

I REMEMBER A CHRISTMAS EVE MANY years ago when, for some reason, I was staying up late. Everyone else in the family had gone to bed, and I was sitting alone looking at the brightly lit tree in our cozy front room. Outside, a cold wind was blowing, and snow was failing a typical winter night in Syracuse, New York.

Suddenly our old cuckoo clock called out the midnight hour. Without even thinking, I glanced at the fireplace, totally expecting to see a pair of soot-covered boots appear, followed by Saint Nick himself. Then I laughed, I knew there was no Santa Claus. I was 14 years old! I'd put away such "childish things" years before. But still I looked, wishing it just might be true.

For many, the holiday season offers more promises than it keeps. They think, This one will be different I'll discover the magic I'11 hear the bells. I'll enjoy myself. But in the end, they find themselves glancing at empty fireplaces, disappointed that fairy tales don't come true.

If you're in this group take heart. This issue of Vibrant Life was created just for you. In it you'll uncover information that can turn your world around during the holidays. Your seasonal sadness may simply be the result of a lack of sufficient light! You may have bought into a few nutritional myths, and your mind and body aren't operating at full strength. Stress. overindulgence, and sleep deficits can spoil the most glorious of holidays.

So I invite you to flip through the pages and read read, read. Find the answers you need to bring back that ol' thankful spirit and merry mentality. Then get up, get out, and spread the word as you offer your friends and family the best gift you can give--your love.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT VIBRANT LIFE!

COPYRIGHT 2004 Review and Herald Publishing Association
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group