Well sir I got me a new job! Yep, the good Lord has blessed me with a mobile expediter specialist position at a large shippin corporation.  That’s the fancy name for it, really I just drive a delivery truck. It’s long hours but the money is good, so Kathy don’t get too upset with me bein gone so much.

But what I wanted to write about is somethin I’ve been noticin durin my long nights on the road. I now believe that there is a direct correlation between ones income and ones Christmas decoratin abilities. See some of my trips take me through some pretty wealthy areas, and them areas have the most extravagant decorations I’ve ever seen. They’ll take yer breath away if you ain’t careful. Huge plastic nativity scenes, ice-sickle lights, robotic santa clauses, it’s just amazing.  After seein all the rich folks decoratin its quite a let down when I pull into my trailor park and see what my redneck brothers have come up with.  For example, my neighbor had the bright idea to decorate a bush on the side of his house with neon blue lights. The man beside him thought it would be a good idea to make a Christmas hosta, and a little further down the road theres a fella that decide to string up some empty beer cans into what appears to be a wreathe… but I ain’t real sure what it’s supposed to be.

Now the funny thing is that before I got this new job I don’t ever remember noticin how ugly my neighbors decorations were. In fact me and Kathy used to have a tradition of drivin around the neighborhood admiring the decorations. But last week when Kathy asked me if I wanted to do it this year, I turned her down because after seein how the rich folks decorate, thangs just didn’t seem the same.

But then thangs changed yesterday. One of my deliveries required me to actually stop at one of the rich folks house. This dude had really gone all out on his decorations. I could see the glow from his yard a mile away, and when I pulled up, all the purty decorations made me feel like I was in a dream!  I couldn’t wait to meet this guy cause if he took that much time to decorate his yard he must really have a lot of Christmas spirit. Boy was I wrong. The same man that decorated that yard was one of the biggest jerks I’ve ever met. He took one look at me and my mullet and treated me like dirt.

 As I pulled out of his yard, I about started to cry because he had been so rude to me. I prayed, “Lord please help me, I just don’t understand how somebody so ugly could make something so purty.

 The Lord spoke back to me, “BillyRay, Christmas isn’t about decorations that people put up, it’s about the people that put up the decorations."

 “Lord, that’s too deep for a redneck like me to comprehend”, I said.

 The Lord spoke back to me and said, “BillyRay, I could give you all the money in the world to buy the most extravagant decorations possible, but that money won’t buy you happiness. True Christmas joy comes from the heart.”

 I said, “Lord you’re right, thanks fixin me up again.”

 I got back on the highway and started drivin to my next stop. I glanced down at the clock and saw that it was 7pm and I knew what I had to do. I made a u-turn and headed back to my trailor park. I parked in the drive way, ran inside and found Kathy in the kitchen washin dishes.

 “What are you doin home so early?” She asked.

 I looked in her eyes and said, “Come on baby we got some decorations to look at, get the kids ready while I warm up the truck.”

 My neighbors' ugly decorations hain’t never looked so good!

So I just want to remind all of y’all this Christmas to slow down and remember what Christmas is really all about. It ain’t the decorations or the presents. It’s about spending time with yer family, friends, and the people that love you. That’s the real joy of Christmas.

God Bless
BillyRay