A Christmas Carol Tradition

"Mankind was my own business. The common welfare was my own business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business". Jacob Marley, "A Christmas Carol"
It is our third day in reading "A Christmas Carol" as a family. I must thank my husband Danny for supporting me in this new tradition with two little ones. I feel it is an important one. And Ellyanna is asking questions and looking at the pictures as I explain them to her.
I have to confess it is my Dad who inspired me to commit to this task, although he does not know it. It's interesting some things you never learn about your parents until you are older.
At a recent stake conference, my Dad spoke about a change of heart, and in his talk he quoted this very book frequently. Apparently he reads this book every Christmas season. Which I'd never known. I remember watching the movie as a family every year, but that's about it.
But as always I digress. Let me tell you about the change I have felt in reading this book thus far. First of all I am suddenly using the words, thus and thy and other "proper" English words in my vocabulary. ;-) And seondly, reading about the ghost of Jacob Marley and his eternal woes of ignorance and shame, makes me take a second look at myself. It seems to me that most of us myself included go about life trying to make ourselves look good. We try hard to become successful in business and riches, and work hard at glossing over our looks with perfume and lipstick. We like to deceive others into thinking we are organized, always patient, always kind, "with it" parents, or super spiritual, without a weakness in us. Or so it seems. But I guess the truth is we are all human with sins and mistakes chaining us down. Our expectations are sqaundered on empty things such as materialism, promotions and attention. And yet this is not our true business here. Mankind is all our business. Not the perfect house, the nice car, vacations and clothes....mankind. I must always remember that. I must forge my life with wings rather than chains. And as I think about it, I realize that when I am serving my fellow being I am truly at peace.
I do not want to be like Jacob Marley who said
"I wear the chain I forged in life...I made it link by link and yard by yard; I girded it on my own free will and on my own free will I wore it.".
Let us all remember through out he while year that our purpose here is to help mankind and that what we reap what we sow.