'Tis the Season

Maybe it's the nauseating amount of toy commercials or the ornamented trees that are popping up in departments stores. Or maybe it's the sale ads and catalogs that are crowding my mailbox. I don't know.

But something tells me Christmas is right around the corner.

I used to love Christmas... back when it was simple and exciting, and the only things I had to think about were which cookies to lay out for Santa and whether or not that blinking red light in the sky was a plane or Rudolph's nose.

But now, in my adulthood, Christmas is a month-and-a-half-long marathon of Christmas shopping, decorating, list-checking, and baking. It's long lines, spilled flour, traffic jams, budget shortfalls, and run-ins with shoppers who have NOT been filled with Christmas cheer.

It's such a hectic, stressful season that by the end of it I sometimes find myself bah-humbuggin' it right along with Ebenezer Scrooge, figuring I'll be happy if I never, ever see another Christmas ornament, taste another Christmas cookie or hear another version of The Little Drummer Boy for as long as I live.

Such a shame!

This is, in its very essence, a beautiful season. It's a time for celebrating the birth of the Savior; for being thankful that the Son of God deigned to leave paradise to become human, to walk in our footsteps, to be persecuted.

To die for our sin.

So this year, amidst the chaos of early-bird sales, burnt-out Christmas tree lights and and angry drivers with wreaths on their trailer hitches I'm determined to see things from a different perspective. Sure, I'll shop and bake and wrap, but this time around I won't make it a priority. My priority for this year is Christ, the only reason we celebrate this time of year in the first place.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:10-14

Nothing under the Christmas tree could ever compare to that!