Tis the Season . . . for what?
This time of year seems to magnify our emotions. A lot of lip service is paid to having a holly jolly Christmas, but for many it is a very lonely time. Isolated and without family, it can be a very trying time for some.
I wax and wane with these feelings during Christmas. The seemingly over-exuberance of fun others seem to have makes me feel like I am missing out on something. Like I am not part of the club – whatever “club” that might be. Stores are filled with hustle and bustle. Roads are jammed with busy travelers. But something is missing.
I’ve taken time off from work this week and next and have not yet felt like I can relax. Everything is caught up in the blur of preparations. We have three family Christmases to celebrate, and we’ve also have some work celebrations. These all take time to get ready for and once the event is over, it’s on to the next. Even when nothing is happening, the tape that plays over and over in my head is filled with the unfinished business for the next gathering. But busyness is a poor substitute for meaning.
When I was a kid, Christmas was the most special time of year. It was all about the food, cutting your own tree, beautiful lights, friends, family, baking cookies, and waiting. Why have things changed so much? Well, now we are the ones putting it all together. Being a kid, you just sat back and enjoyed the time. Is it possible to put the genie back in the bottle?
I think that is the challenge and what we all are faced with. Stop the hours of shopping, preparing, cleaning, running, and this and that. This week, I have wanted to go see a movie or two, maybe bowling, playing family games, making lefse, and other family fun. So far, no go . . . Even though I might have cleared the decks, if everyone else hasn’t, then we still have an issue. We ALL need to be on board. It’s a purposeful effort.
It really doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we do it together. So far this season, we have not got into the “family time” groove… yet. We have another week of vacation–and another opportunity. I hope you too can clear the decks, slow down, and add additional mortar to those special relationships in your life.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more”. ~Dr. Seuss
Remember whose birth we celebrate this Christmas season. Without Him and what He did for us, we are lost. It is only through Jesus that we are able to freely give that gift of love to others. What we give was first given to us. Happy birthday, Jesus! Don’t forget Him. He is the reason for the season.
Happy Thanksgiving! . . . wait, is it over?
Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving? I sure did. Now onto Christmas! Wait a minute… the Christmas season started right after Halloween, right? Christmas music has been playing on the radio, and the stores have been decorated for a few weeks now. It seems like this pesky little holiday called Thanksgiving gets wedged into the mix and then gets used as an accelerant for Christmas called, “Black Friday”.
I am certainly not against Christmas. It is probably my favorite time of year. What I don’t like is that it seems like we allow everyone else call the shots when we are celebrating these holidays. Why does Halloween and Christmas garner so much attention and Thanksgiving comes and goes in a puff of smoke? We even actually get two days off for Thanksgiving—and none for Halloween. I guess we need one of those days to celebrate Thanksgiving and the other to start shopping for Christmas. We can’t even slow down long enough to let the dust settle.
The hijacking of these holidays serves one major purpose—to sell more stuff! The stores, TV stations, and advertisers start earlier and earlier to sell more and more. They couldn’t care less about what these holidays are really about. Family, friends, God, and country? Who needs it… Now let’s get selling! Thanksgiving pays the highest price, because we don’t buy anything for it. It is a time to stop, pause, reflect, and give thanks for all that we have in America.
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside each year for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. We live in the best country in the world. We are the freest. We are the most prosperous. We are the most generous. We are truly a blessed nation. I feel very fortunate to call America my home. I am very grateful. Along with that, I have an awesome family and great friends. I am able to freely worship and exercise my Christian faith. I am not persecuted for my beliefs and can travel freely anywhere I choose. No other country in the world, besides Canada, celebrates Thanksgiving. That should tell you something.
So here is what I am doing. I am opting out of the hustle and bustle of this 30-second sound bite “holiday”. The retailers don’t have anything to gain by droning on about Thanksgiving, but we all do. I am going to take these few precious days to slow down and let the Thanksgiving aura persist before it gets snuffed out by the oncoming freight train of the Christmas season. I will then prepare for Christmas in its due season, because right on its heels is Valentine’s Day.
Happy Thanksgiving!