The Reason of the Season

Right now in my home, it doesn’t look like there is a major holiday coming up. The snow is on the ground thanks to the “storm of the season”, the temperatures have dropped to below freezing, and from what I can tell from driving around town Christmas is around the corner. Christmas is the only season in which we really decorate, once the tree hunt is done and the tree is placed in it’s spot it becomes real. There is a certain energy that comes with the Christmas season. It’s a part holiday shopping stress, a part excitement for baking, and most importantly it’s an awe of what the season is all about.

I want to say that I am not stressed about the holiday shopping part, but I am. I promise myself every January that I will shop all year long for the following Christmas season and then I realized 3 weeks before Christmas that I did not keep my promise. I am lucky now that my kids are older and I don’t feel the like I have to keep the gift giving magic alive as much as I used to when they were younger. The difference now is they are more specific in the what they are interested in and so they usually have an idea of what they will get, and they are more grateful for what they have received. I love to see their faces light up on Christmas morning because of the gift that was given. But Christmas is more than that

For the past 20 years we have gone out and gotten a tree from the woods. We used to get trees that ended up being too big for the space they were being put into, but we have learned over the years that even if it looks small it’s probably still to big for our house. So we target those trees that would be considered “suppressed”. They are usually the ones that are under the canopy of the larger more dominant trees, hoping to get just a little of sunshine. They are the underdogs of the tree world. So we find the “perfect” one an we take it home to decorate it while listening to Christmas music. The ornaments are random coming from my hubby’s childhood through our kids childhood and beyond. There is no rhyme or reason but that is what I love about it. The lights are the multicolored lights and the angel on top adds the finishing touch. This is also the point in which my hubby decides all of the Christmas inflatables he has accumulated over the years get blown up and placed in the front yard. But Christmas is more than these traditions too.

Christmas energy comes from knowing the reason for the season. All the other stuff is fluff. I love to hide behind the “I’m too busy” excuse, Christmas helps me to see that there are more important things in life than being busy. A sermon I recently listen too, the pastor talked about worship and he brought up three different people that came to worship when Christ was born. The first person/people were the wise men. They worshipped using their intelligence, time and money. They travelled from a place far away, knowing where they needed to go based on the placement of the stars and the studying they did. They had the time and money to travel (they were on camels and on foot and had a large amount of people with them). It would take them months to get to Bethlehem, and the gifts they gave were very expensive. The types of gifts they gave (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) were gifts meant for a king but also one that would be used in a burial. The gifts were thought through and intentional.

The second person/people were the shepherds. They stunk, they were outcasts, and not very many people wanted them around and yet the angels put on such a performance for them to see. They brought what they had, which wasn’t much other than themselves. For Christ, even as a baby that was enough. I think this is where most of us fall into for a category of people, not that we stink or live with sheep, but we feel we don’t have much to offer so why would Christ want us? This is where He says “come to be all who are weary and I will give you rest”

The third person, really didn’t have a choice on being there since she gave birth to Christ, but Mary gave her body, mind and soul as an act of worship. She would not know the amount of suffering she would endure because of her baby boy, but even if she did she would still worship. She trusted God with her life. When Christ was born she didn’t know the world had changed in that instance. It says in the Bible that she pondered these things in her heart, when the wise men visited and the shepherds came. Her whole life was an act of worship, and because she believed we have the hope of Christmas in our hearts to ponder. This is what Christmas is about. This pondering and worshipping with what we have is what makes Christmas come alive. Where is your heart this Christmas? What have you made important? Until next time:

Remind yourself that the majority of what’s stressing you out today won’t matter a month from now. Shake it off, reset, and bring your attention back to what’s important.

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Help keep Living Joyfully a place where hope abounds and people can find ways to see the joy around them

Help keep Living Joyfully a place where hope abounds and people can find ways to see the joy around them

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