Christmas Time

I love Christmas. I love the special celebrations of Christ as Baby Jesus, and remembering what a precious gift God gave us on the very first Christmas. I love the decorations, the special music on the radio, the thought of Santa on his way. But I can’t really say that I love “Christmas time”, Here’s the jab; Christmas time well it is always so stressful and hectic. Shopping, Shopping, Shopping with no end in sight and not knowing if you got the right gift, the right size or if you bought (horror of all horrors) something they already had or got as a gift. Then add that to all the Christmas get-togethers, Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners and you have yourself a recipe for high blood pressure, stroke, heart-attack, migraine headaches and a multitude of other stress related health issues.  

What ever happened to the old adage “Christmas is a happy time, a time of love, giving and sharing”, and “Giving is better than receiving”? I suppose it should be. But let’s get real people, I live in America, where expectations run wild, schedules are way out of control, traffic is horrible, lines are long, people are frustrated, and money is no object. Hold on just a minute, what was that about money being no object?? Let’s change that to my kids think that money is no object and most people shop like money is no object until there is nothing left or have maxed out all their credit cards and have to refinance their home or even sell it just to pay for Christmas. 

But what you end up with is a house full of stuff that is forgotten the next day or is not as good or big or pretty or bright or fast (you get the picture) as Sally’s or Jimmy’s stuff. Then the kids demand that their stuff be returned, so they can get the same or better stuff, while Mom and Dad are worried about how they are going to pay their January house payment. Just thinking about it is enough to give me a headache. 

I used to tell myself every year that I am not going to do that again. I am going to be better and start decorating before Thanksgiving and have my presents all bought throughout the year or at least before December 1st, so I can really enjoy Christmas. I told myself that again this year. One year, I am really going to stick to this promise. Maybe (hopefully) it will be this year. 

Then out of the blue my then 11 year old son (who by the way is now finishing up his PhD in mathematics this year) saw my keychain which read “She who dies with the most supplies wins.”, and then simply said “Did you know that 78% of people that collect stuff are unhappy with their lives and are trying to fill a void”. What!!??  This was an 11 year old boy (he’s a bit of a genius) who had the insight that really Christmas should be about Jesus and family, not tons of presents! Wow!!! What remarkable wisdom!! 

God speaks to us in so many ways , but we need to learn how to listen . From someone who stops to help you put something in your car, to a lick on the face from your sweet dog or from the unsuspecting words of an 11 year old boy. We can choose to hear Him or ignore Him. It’s your choice. What did God tell you today? He’s everything and everywhere. Merry Christmas my friends!