Monday Morning Memo: The Beauty of Christmas

I was reading some of my devotionals from years past, and I came across these words from several years ago:

“Ready…Set…GO!  Crank up your energy and dive into Christmas week.   Last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, grocery shopping so you can make all those recipes you’ve been saving for the holidays, empty out those extra bedrooms that you’ve been using as storage rooms so that your company will have a place to sleep, bathe the dog, clean the house, practice remembering names of distant relatives that you only see once a year, threaten your kids that they better be on their best behavior and say thank you for whatever grandma and grandpa give them…even if they don’t get what they wanted AND slap that Christian smile on your face even though you are exhausted and in desperate need of sleep.

Wow…sounds like fun week, huh?  I’m tired from just typing the words, let alone accomplishing the tasks.  We often talk about Christmas being such a wonderful, love filled holiday, but we often cram so much into this time that we end up just living in survival mode until it is all over.

What a shame.  I really doubt this is what God had in mind when He sent his Son into the world as a baby.  I don’t think He hoped that this miracle would send us into a frenzy each year as we clean, cook, purchase, wrap, threaten and then live behind a façade that everything is A-OK in our world.

I think many of us fall into this trap because we have made Christmas about US instead of about HIM.  We want everything to be just perfect and so we do what we have to do to make sure everyone gets what they want, instead of giving Him what He deserves.  As a result, we do what a sign that I saw tells us not to do:  “Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle”!”

Fast-forward now several years later to 2017, and I’m not sure we have learned our lesson.  Many of us are still allowing our tinsel to get in a tangle and then stress overwhelms us and we ignore the Christ of Christmas.  I understand that we all want our family to be happy and feel loved during this season, but let's make sure that our focus is on the One that made it all possible.  It is so easy for us to be more focused on presents during this time of year than on His presence.  As I'm sure we all know, but often ignore, is the fact that Jesus is the reason for the season and we need to make sure the tHe is the one That is the center of our thoughts and attention.  He really is the true beauty of Christmas.

As you go throughout your week and feel the tension rising, why not take a moment and say to yourself, “I am NOT going to get my tinsel in a tangle.”  Of course you might want to make sure your relatives don’t hear you say it, because they just might give you a straight jacket for Christmas!

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, 
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6