LETS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

BY DR. GEORGE BIRTCH

The story is told of a little girl whose parents left her in the care of a maiden aunt while they went on a holiday. This aunt, it seems, was very afraid of thunderstorms. Several occurred when her niece was with her, and each time she hurried the child down into the basement where they hid beneath the cellar stairs until the storm had passed.

When the parents came back and their child returned home they were distressed to discover how afraid she was of thunderstorms. They tried to assure her that there was nothing to fear. They got her counting the seconds between the lightning's flash and the thunder roar. They assured her that God looks after little girls in thunderstorms.

Gradually her fear seemed to subside. Then one night, after they had gone to bed, a terrific storm came up. The parents wondered how the child was taking it. Soon the patter of feet came along the hall and the little girl crawled into beside her mother. "What is it, dear?" the mother asked. I'm not frightened, mummy" the child replied. "I know God looks after little girls in thunderstorms. But mummy, it's awful nice to be near somebody with skin on!".

That is what Christmas is about. Love is a great idea. Poems have been written about it. Songs have been sung about it. Sermons have been preached about it. But, love, human or divine, remains just a great idea until somebody comes along and clothes the idea with skin. Then love becomes a voice that is heard, a touch that is felt, a look that changes how you feel. Love "with skin on" is what Christmas is all about.

Love is still a great idea. We prefer, perhaps to call it "caring". Love suffers from too many definitions. At Donwood, we have a special feeling about caring.

When a group of Donwood graduates sit down to try to define the essential ingredients of the Donwood program they wrote this: "We believe that even more important for recovery than education or therapy is the experience of being in a community where people care for each one as a person.

"They wrote that not just because the ideal appealed to them. They wrote it because, somewhere along the line, caring had had skin on, and that made all the difference. There are various ways of celebrating Christmas. None can be more true to the original idea than if we go a little further and dig a little deeper in making sure that in some special way caring has skin on. Let's celebrate Christmas!

Don says: I like the words "Let's celebrate Christmas!" Dr. Birtch had a wonderful way with words. He had a smooth way of saying how he understood what the alcoholics had to say, and the pain that they went through. He had the common man's way of expressing his love for his fellow man. I will miss him!