Christmas is here bringing good cheer…. or is it? What do the holidays represent to you? It’s a time of increased busyness, more social engagements, shopping, and family get togethers. It can be a time of reflecting on the gift of a Savior coming to live in our world, a time of reliving and recreating treasured childhood memories and reconnecting with family and friends. For some these activities are the most special moments of the year, for others the memories are painful , and the joyous songs of the season only accent feelings of emptiness, depression, loneliness, or discontent and those social and family gatherings or lack thereof only open old wounds or create new ones.
So what is a healthy way to celebrate the holidays? Think about and decide what is really important to you? There is no need to bake, shop or wrap endlessly, address Christmas cards and stress over the cost of the stamps just because that’s the way others do it or even the way you’ve always done it before. Create traditions and memories that have meaning for you and your family and feel free to say “no” to the rest. If the holidays accent emotional pain for you, put the day in perspective. Just because the songs and commercials create expectations of love, harmony and good will to all, this is not the reality for most. However, perhaps the painful feelings that arise this time of year highlight areas of your life that you do need to tend to the rest of the year. Loneliness can be a powerful motivator to get connected and involved with new groups or activities. The pain of strained or broken relationships can be a sign of reconciliation or conversations that need to take place.
For the Christian, Christmas is celebrating the birth of our Savior yet so much of what Christmas has become has very little to do with that. I recently heard a story that spoke of trying to explain to someone who had never heard of Christmas what Christmas is about. As we are hustling and bustling, cleaning our house, shopping and fighting for parking spots or the shortest cashier line and feeling stressed in the process we tell this person “Christmas is about the infinite God of all creation is entering our world as a baby and coming to live among us and redeem us from our sin.” “Wow,” they reply, “I would be stressed and busy making preparations as well if I knew that God was coming to live alongside me.”
“For unto us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord”
Merry Christmas!