So This Is Christmas

This is a wonderful time of year. The air is filled with promise and anticipation. People are out cheerfully going about tasks and smiling to strangers as they pass. Everyone has an increased desire to give, to take care of those around them, to be a good person. It really is the hap, happiest season of all. However, I don't always feel completely happy about it. I love Christmas. I love spending time with family. I love giving gifts and trimming a tree. I love the increased love and charity in everyone around and I especially love all the talk of Christ and His incredible birth. But, there is so much to do, so much hustle and bustle; so little downtime. I wake up every morning totally exhausted and foggy headed with lists and tasks for the day. This very morning I stumbled into the shower, kicking myself for not waking up earlier, and proceeded to shave with the cap on the razor, it took me much longer to notice than I would like to admit.

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It is rather ironic that such a quiet, unassuming day is celebrated with so much noise and so many trimmings. I was thinking about the birth of Christ and what a remarkable night it was. The real beauty of that event comes from understanding what it meant, and means, for mankind, past, present, and future. The Savoir of the world was born to atone for all of us and later return again. He conquered death and sin. It is such a humbling and exciting realization. Add to that knowledge the complete faith of all those that participated in that day, who came to worship Him; those who believed in the prophecy of old and had the faith to follow where they were led. Aside from all of those many wonderful details of Christ's birth, there is another unmistakable detail, the manger. We can't overlook the beautiful symbolism that the Redeemer of the world was born, almost unnoticed, in a manger. 

It seems to me that much of our Christmas celebrations are about making things look special. I have been bombarded with emails with countless examples of the "perfect holiday look" or the most festive colors and patterns. So many of us want to lose weight, get our hair freshened up a bit, or get a new dress before we head off to a party or family event. I keep hearing commercials for botox or other cosmetic surgery promising that one particular company has "everything that will make me feel good for the holidays". We read Martha Stewart's suggestions for how to wrap the perfect present. We cover the outside and the inside of our house with lights, wreaths, and other outwardly expressions of holiday cheer. Christmas just isn't Christmas if we aren't our skinniest, prettiest, sparkliest selves surrounded by our clean, festive, beautifully wrapped house, tree, and gifts. Can people know that we love them if their present isn't wrapped in a lovely way? Is family time as valuable when we don't spend hours in kitchen cooking in preparation?

I absolutely love getting dressed up for a party and I loved thinking of special ways to trim our tree. There is nothing wrong with making things pretty. However, let's not get so obsessed with how things look that we miss one important aspects of the event that we are celebrating. Let's not forget how often Christ, through His life and His words, tried to teach us that the package doesn't matter. One of my favorite lines in Luke Chapter 1 is verse 46 and 47, "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." Isn't she wonderful? Aren't those words more lovely than any holiday tree. 

I want to take more time to be still this season; take more time to pray. Create more time to really enjoy those we love, not just to celebrate with them. I want to take out some of the unnecessary trappings and truly enjoy those more important Christmas trimmings. Let's all remember the most important light, of this and every season, comes from the knowledge that He lives still. He was born in those incredibly humble circumstances so many years ago. He atoned for every one of us, and He conquered death. He lives. Oh how wish we could all remember that the only way to get "everything that will make us feel good for the holidays" and every other day, is to live so our soul doth magnify the Lord. I want to be better at remembering that special moments, special people, and special memories are most often found in unassuming packages and the still, quiet, unplanned moments are some of the best this season can offer.

Merry Christmas.

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