it started with the decorations - put the tree up, don't put the tree up; decorate only the living room, decorate any room with a surface to decorate; too many decorations, not enough decorations.
followed by the card - send a card, don't send a card; pay extra for a photo card, send a simple card; send a card to every person you have made eye contact with since kindergarten, send a card to family and close friends.
then came the shopping - so many people, so little money. it seems like there just isn't enough cash to buy decent gifts for everyone on our list.
and what is Christmas without decorations, cards, and gifts?! i think i need to take a breath. i need to remember that Christmas isn't about any one of those things. and while i know that Christmas is the time of year i can reflect on the birth of my Savior, that great Gift gets lost and nearly forgotten under all the envelope addressing and gift wrapping. i spend more evenings lamenting all that is still left to do and buy and no time praising the Baby born to save my soul.
i don't believe that anything is inheritantly wrong with decorating your home or giving a gift. however, if the meaning of Christmas is an afterthought, an excuse to buy and receive, there is a problem.
Jesus was born so that we may receive a gift not found in stores; a gift that would not be forgotten before the next December 25th rolls around; a gift that relieves stress, not causes it; maybe next year we will forgo all of the commercial/consumerist pomp and circumstance and use the season to be thankful for and to share the best gift ever given - eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ.
may we remember the young mother cradling her newborn Son - her Son sent to be the Savior of the world.
"Kissing the Face of God" by Morgan Weistling
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