Over the past six Christmases Doug has worked in either the fast-food business or the shipping business. In both environments there is a harried blanket that falls over everyone involved - it's an almost suffocating entrapment in the insanity of the "holiday season." There is a rush, a frustration, a selfishness, and a sense of dread surrounding each employee as they serve the customers - each of whom is also draped in the blanket. For those without the hope of Christ, I cannot imagine the burden this causes. I do know that even for those of us who know the true meaning of Christmas, it is exceedingly difficult to shake the oppression experienced in such an environment! Each evening Doug would come home and attempt to, for a few hours, settle into peacefulness - knowing that his reprieve would be short before he had to dive right back in. Finally, at some point on Christmas Eve, he could begin to relax a bit, trying to hurriedly calm himself to prepare for the family's Christmas celebrations.
Each year was a challenge. Each year required a great amount of work and energy to truly claim some sense of peace during the Christmas season. We as a family began to adopt practices to help us keep our focus right, knowing that one day we would be able to truly enjoy Christmas again.
That day has come. We looked forward to Christmas this year with great anticipation, beginning our mental preparations almost as soon as we'd unpacked the boxes from our move! We were so excited knowing that we could truly enjoy the Christmas season without having to expend so much energy fighting against the oppression of the world's "holiday season." What we didn't quite expect, though, was the realization of how those six Christmases actually served to greatly prepare us to truly enjoy this Christmas.
As I mentioned, we worked hard within our family to keep our focus in the right place. We didn't go to an insane number of Christmas parties just because we were invited, but instead chose significant ones so we could also make sure to protect our limited family time during the season. We began to greatly protect the time Doug had off for Christmas, spending it as a family at home instead of insanely driving from place to place to be with other people on those days. With finances always being tight, we began to be prayerfully intentional about every gift and card, desiring that every gift be meaningful and real - not just a token trinket to make sure we filled every gift requirement being placed upon us. We worked as a family to truly pay attention to our gifts, choosing to make many of them so they would be just perfect. We began to sift through our plentiful decor, taking the nativities we had and making them the centerpoint of our decor - beginning a collection that is a constant reminder of what Christmas is all about. We have made sure that the story of Jesus' birth is the focus and that the gifts truly do serve as a reminder of His gift to us.
All of those things were born of necessity - an intentional attempt to bring us back to a point of peace in the midst of the chaos. But as we approach a year where the peace is much easier to come by, we realize that these practices ensure that we do not lose our focus simply because it's easier to celebrate Christmas this year. So, looking back, I wouldn't choose to go back to those Christmases, but I am so thankful for them. Through difficult and stressful times, the Lord has done His incredible work of making those times work together for good by growing us and teaching us to be focused in the right direction.
I don't share all of this to tell you that this is the way you have to spend Christmas. I share this to remind you of two things...
- God does indeed work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Our difficult times are often simply the result of living in this sinful world, but God will never allow those times to be wasted. He will produce something beautiful from the difficult challenges of life. That is a promise.
- Christmas is not about gifts and pleasing our loved ones. Christmas is not about shopping and parties. Christmas is not about the decorations and the cantatas. Christmas is about using all of those tools to celebrate the moment when God became flesh and dwelt among us. It is about taking the opportunity to give a gift so as to open the door to either remind of or share for the first time the meaning of that gift of Christ. The tools are great and wonderful - but let's not make them what Christmas is about. Let's make sure they stay just that - tools to help us keep our focus where it needs to be.
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