As Christmas Approaches

From 2007:

As Christmas approaches, you tend to get excited about many things.  You start thinking of wonderful gifts to give your family and friends.  You anticipate the gifts that others are choosing for you.  Gatherings are planned to celebrate the season with a festive air.  Trees have been put up and decorated with lights, bits of tinsel, Hallmark ornaments, and hand-crafted pieces from second grade.  You have put out your favorite nativity scene and rented all of the classics from Video Hut down the street.  The eggnog is chilling in the refrigerator and Bing is crooning about snow on Christmas from the stereo in the corner.  Your Christmas cards are in the mail with your personal notes to each and every friend and family member, and you have started receiving cards and displaying them for all to see.  Each card that arrives not only contains a nice little sentiment about the holiday season, but it also adds another notch to your belt of self-importance.  You and your family plan your annual outing on the streets of town to see the Christmas lights your neighbors have stapled to the roof and hung across the porch.  One day at the mall, you were in the rotunda when a group of local schoolchildren began singing Jingle Bells with gusto.  You have gotten all of the most important elements of this very special season in place and in order, and you are ready for the “big” day.

The strange thing is that you feel empty and even slightly alone in the midst of all this cheer and love.  How could that be?  You stop and think for a bit sitting in your favorite chair curled up under a blanket.  You are thankful that the rest of the family is out shopping or sledding, so you can have these precious few minutes alone to contemplate.  As the seconds tick by on the mantel clock, you begin to realize what the problem is.  The problem, the real problem, is that you have missed the whole point.  In the midst of preparing and planning, you missed the real reason for excitement and joy at this time of year.  You are buying gifts for others in celebration not of the season but of the Christ.  You are having these gatherings and receiving these cards not because snow has finally fallen and you can make angels but because the Savior of the world was born.  How could you have missed it?  A simple thing really, right?  The easiest thing in the world to stay focused on amidst all of the hubbub.  Must not be if you are feeling so empty inside.  You realize that all of the activities that are going on around you aren’t bad.  On the contrary, they are important but only if they are happening for the right reasons with the right intentions.  A time to celebrate the birth of the most special person in human history is not a time to lose sight of the true reason for joy in our lives. 

You get up, turn, and get on your knees at your chair and begin to pour out your heart.  You thank God for the most precious gift that you or anyone else could ever receive.  Your lips begin to tremble as tears roll down your cheeks creating a little circle on the chair.  As you continue praying, the door opens and your husband and children enter from all their activities.  They all holler for you, wondering where you could be.  Your husband spots you first, and as your children approach, he lifts one finger to his lips.  They all stand there and watch you as your words grow loud enough for them to hear and understand.  “Dear Lord, I have been going about my activities these last few weeks with the wrong purpose in my heart.  I have been interested in getting the right gifts and getting cards in the mail and making cookies, but Lord, I haven’t been showing others Your love and the very real joy in my heart over Your birth.  What have I been doing?  I want to learn to celebrate Christmas for the right reasons with the right attitude.”  You realize that there are now four other people on their knees around you, bowing their heads in prayer.  “Lord, I want to thank you for the many blessings I have from you.  Not only the birth of Jesus but so many other things.  I have a home, a husband, beautiful children, family, friends, and many more things.  I want to continue to prepare for this magnificent time of year with the right heart attitude and without the rush and hassles of past years.  Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes and heart to the truth of this moment in time.  In your precious and holy name, amen.”  As you stand, many arms reach out to hug you and wholeheartedly voices agree with you.  What a precious moment and time this has become.  What a special birth you can celebrate!