RANDY DICKSON: Gifts from my heart

I love this time of year when wishes of, “Peace on earth, good will to men,” fill the hearts of many people.

In a couple of days we celebrate Christmas, and every family, depending on their beliefs, celebrate the holiday in a little different way.

Some families will get a head start on their Christmas celebration by attending a Christmas Eve service or mass at their place of worship. Other families will spend Christmas Eve gathered around the television set listening to reports estimating the time of Santa’s arrival. And still others might open gifts Christmas Eve, as my family did when I was growing up so many years ago.

Part of my family’s tradition is to have a birthday cake for Jesus and sing, “Happy Birthday,” to him.

Christmas day should be a time of more family and plenty of food. If you are lucky, there will be little ones present, as well as those who have seen 70-something Christmases.

Of course everyone looks forward to the gifts they might give and receive for Christmas, and here are a few of the gifts I would like to give if I were able.

The first gift would go to Crestview defensive tackle Martez House, who has recently been diagnosed with a life-threatening heart disease. The gift I would give to Martez is a healthy heart that would allow him to be on the football field again with his teammates in the spring.

My second gift to Martez would be a grateful heart no matter what happens with his health in the days to come.

I would give the family of Martez the faith and hope to sustain them in the days to come. And one gift we can all give to Martez and his family that won’t cost us a thing is a prayer for his recovery.

Too often this time of year is filled with news of young people doing stupid and careless things that end up costing them their lives.

For all the kids out there, whether they are athletes or not, I would give the gifts of common sense and courage.

It is my hope that they would realize the risks associated with texting while they are driving or getting in a car with a driver that has been drinking.

Sometimes going against the flow isn’t easy, but it can save a life.

For local coaches I would give enough wins to keep the fans happy, but enough loses to keep everything in perspective.

I know that winning is important, but there are other things that matter more.

My gift to Kathy Combest would be continued good health and the ability to step back and enjoy life in the slow lane now that she is out of coaching.

I would give former Crestview baseball star Blake Dean and his Louisiana State teammates another run at a national championship. And I would give Blake the thrill of hearing his name called in the first round of the draft in June.

Being a Dodger fan, I would give myself the gift of seeing Blake drafted by Los Angeles.

My wish bag of gifts is far from empty, but if I continue I’m sure I’ll forget someone.

So my final two gifts are simple.

I would give to every athlete the joy of competing in his or her sport and being a part of a team.

And to all of us I would give the gift the angels proclaimed to those shepherds on the hillside near Bethlehem of “Peace on earth good will to men,” some 2,000 years ago the night that Christ was born.

Merry Christmas. And may God bless you one and all.