Christmas

Every year I do the same thing....I get all excited about Christmas. I start shopping long before most people even think about Christmas coming. I enjoy trying to find just the right gift (and of course a good bargain). I think about the special days around Christmas. I look forward to the Cantata, candle lighting, picking a tree and decorating it, putting lights up on the house, everyone together in my Mom's house on Christmas morning.

But somewhere along the way, about this time, I become a part of the statistic of people that get stressed out and even a little depressed around the holidays. I get these great expectations of how things should be, visions of sugar plums dance through my head, expecatations that so often lead to disappointment. It really isn't anyones fault but my own. I find it difficult not to think about loved ones lost. And somehow I've distorted my memories of past holidays to create these expectations...it's an invitation for a huge let down. I'm pretty sure I know why, I somehow manage to leave Jesus out of the whole thing. Every year I tell myself I'm going to do things differently. I'm going to focus my attention on the real meaning of Christmas, Jesus. I'm going to stop spending so much money and honor Jesus with the choices I make. If I give, it's going to be in such a way that it reflects what I've been given, or give to those in need. And yet, I do what I've always done over and over again.

Well, like I've been reminded many times recently, it is never too late to do the right thing. Somehow I'm going to find a way to honor Jesus in the way I think about and celebrate Christmas this year.