Hi Team!
I always hate it when I read letters that start out saying, “Where did the time go? We’re already in the ______ season (fill in the blank…end of summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc…) So here I go:
Where did the time go? We’re already in the Christmas season! Seriously, it really did sneak up on us, didn’t it? I don’t know about you, but when I look at the calendar and see that there are only 22 days left until Christmas, I get stressed. I haven’t decorated, sent cards, shopped, made cookies…any of it!
Most of us have a mental idea of all of the things we HAVE to do to have a perfect Christmas, but when we start obsessing, panicking, snapping and rushing (especially in front of non-believers or our children!) we are negating anything we may have said about the REAL reason for the season. This year I am vowing to keep the focus on Jesus, and not stressing when things that have no eternal value don’t get done. Join me! Let’s start a Christmas revolution!
A Christmas revolution? I can get down with that! The prior passage was taken from an e-mail sent out by our Educational Director, the brilliant Kristen Burke, to the God’s Growing Garden team. I whole-heartedly agree that we focus too much of our energies on the things that have “no eternal value†and wanted to share this message on a broader scale.
I LOVE everything about the Christmas season which in my family includes anniversaries and birthdays (even more reasons to be festive)! I love everything from the music to the food and time spent with family; from baking a cake for Jesus to laughing at stories of the past and, of course, opening gifts! After all, what is Christmas without the all-important tradition of gift giving… right? I enjoy giving gifts throughout the year to family and friends, but I especially love to do so in the Christmas season. I enjoy watching the reaction when someone is given the “one†thing they wanted for Christmas; AND few things compare to seeing my children’s faces light up as they awaken on Christmas morning to the realization that Santa had been by for a visit!
It was in this spirit that, after dropping my kids off at school last Wednesday morning, I decided to stop at a few stores to begin my Christmas shopping. However, as I walked up and down the aisles of the first store I visited looking at toys, electronics, movies, music, clothes and even furniture nothing appealed to me. I spent over an hour in the store before realizing that I had no desire to buy things! So, I left that store. Nevertheless, before heading home I decided to make one more stop. Again I walked up and down the aisles and saw NOTHING that my kids needed, nothing that my husband needed, nothing that I needed. Suddenly, I realized something I’d forgotten: there is no “thing” that we need, instead there is a “who†that we need.
When my girls were younger I used to tell them that one year we would go without gifts and instead buy for a needy family… sacrifice. Though they were young, we were all in agreement that one Christmas we would make this a reality; that we would make personal sacrifices in order to “show God’s love.†However, over the last few years I find that I’ve bought into all the lies that I’ve been fed… the lies that I, that my family and I, need “things†to be happy. We are constantly bombarded with T.V. commercials, billboards, ads in magazines and online that tell us about the latest and greatest toy… be it the newest Barbie doll, designer handbag, cell phone, digital camera, plasma T.V. or even a new vehicle! The effect: that “holiday spirit†that we used to share has been replaced by overstressed individuals who bicker and will do anything (trample store employees and shoot one another in a toy store) to satisfy that insatiable need for “things.â€
In this season we’ve fallen into the trap of focusing too much on what we need instead of who we need. Our focus should be on Christ, on His unmatched and unconditional love, on His sacrifice. We should have thankful hearts for our savior and the many blessings He’s bestowed upon us. How will you show your gratitude this Christmas to the One who loves you and without whom you’d have no reason to celebrate? Will you welcome Christ into your home this holiday season or will He be left out in the cold?
Does this mean that Santa won’t make a stop at my house this year? No, he’ll be by to eat his cookies, drink his glass of milk and leave a few presents. But, our focus this Christmas will be on those things that have eternal value… the One who has handed us eternity and the family that He’s blessed us with.
So, are you down with a Christmas revolution??!!