By Steve McIlwain

Hubs here.

Ash and I love the Christmas season.  Love the lights, love the songs, love the church services, love the food.  The crisp, cold air carries with it a sense of excitement and joy.  Christmas tree lots pops up on street corners.  Stores are filled with aisles of endless Christmas stuff.  Lights twinkle as you drive through the neighborhood.  It’s one of our favorite times of the year.  But man, December is one crazy month.

Looking at our December calendar each year is like staring down the barrel of a shotgun.  From Christmas parties to tree lighting ceremonies, ice skating to white-elephant exchanges, decorating to preparing the feast, cutting down the tree to the baking extravaganza … there’s a lot to jam into the month.  There are also relatives, egg-nog, and Christmas jammies in the mix.  On top of that, many people are traveling during the holidays which adds planes, trains, and/or automobiles to the extravaganza (those aren’t pillows!).  “Tidings of comfort and joy” doesn’t mean much in the reality of the Christmas dash.

Yet through the madness, we soak up every single instant of this joyous season.  Even when the insanity seems to reach its absolute pinnacle, we hold on for dear life and enjoy the ride like a rip-roaring roller coaster.  Here’s a couple ways we delight in the Christmas craze:

  • Carve out some quiet time; even if it’s only a little bit.  When our Christmas tree is up, Ash and I share a quiet moment each night before we go to bed.  All the lights in the house are off except for the Christmas tree lights.  We push the button on our little Christmas snow globe that plays random Christmas tunes in 30-60 second snippets.  We hug each other and just look at the tree for the duration of the song.  We look at the ornaments and recall the memories attached to each one.  We look at the softly twinkling lights dancing on the tree.  We stare aimlessly at the fir, zoning out to the soft melody of Silent Night.  It’s a peaceful, quiet moment to reflect on the meaning and beauty of Christmas.  That doesn’t need to be your quiet moment, but find a brief instant you can take a deep breath, silence the Christmas noise, and reflect on the amazingness of this great season.
  • Revel in the Christmas disaster.  Ah yes, the Christmas disaster.  Few things compare to the blaze of glory of a Christmas meltdown.  The Christmas tree falls over, the turkey drops to the floor, the dog pees on your gift.  Rest assured, Christmas disasters occur time and time again each yuletide season … it’s pretty much a rite of passage.  Some Christmas disasters come in smaller sizes: you drop your kid off late to their Christmas play, you completely forgot Christmas dessert, you can’t find your Barry Manilow Christmas album.  Whether large or small, Christmas disasters are bound to happen and eventually evolve into the stuff of Christmas legend: remember the year mom lit the turkey on fire … that was awesome!  You’re in good company; it happens to everyone.
  • Remember the reason. With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, it’s easy to miss the whole point: Jesus was born as a gift to the world, and we give each other gifts to celebrate the arrival of our Savior.  Everything, yes, everything, that you do during the Christmas season should be with this in mind.  All the trips to the mall, each hour of decorating, every single party, each bite of Christmas candy, and every gift that you give and receive is to celebrate this great truth.  When you are burned out on Christmas, exhausted from the unending Christmas festivities, or upset that your perfect Christmas plans have ended in disaster, remember that the whole point is to celebrate God’s gift to the world.  Maybe you need to drop a few items from your December calendar to remember that.  Maybe you need to loosen your grip on the idea of a flawless Christmas.  Maybe you need to re-think the avalanche of Christmas presents you purchase each year.  The very heart of Christmas is Jesus’ birth, and that alone is an endless supply of joy to last throughout December.

Ashley and I don’t have a perfect Christmas each year.  Things go wrong.  Disappointments happen.  Exhaustion sets in.  However, each December we seek to focus on the heart and spirit of Christmas: Christ’s love and sacrifice for us.  And with that in mind, we majestically run ourselves into the ground each December … and we love it.  What better way to appreciate and honor God’s gift to us than overflowing with joy and emulating His generosity.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.  May God’s blessings, joy, comfort, and love overflow in your heart this Christmas.

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