Holidays

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Have you ever felt that way, that it just does not feel like Christmas?

But what does Christmas feel like? I mean, how do we know what it is that makes it feel right?

Is it snow? Is it Christmas carols playing in the stores and happy shoppers? Is it Jack Frost nipping at your nose? Maybe it is gathering with friends, baking and decorating cookies. Or is it office parties? Christmas bonuses? Perhaps it is finding the most amazing tree and decorating it prettier than last year, or winning the neighborhood decorating contest?

Is it finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list – one that will make them light up with joy? Or is it receiving that ONE thing you want so badly on your own list.

The down-side of Christmas is tight budgets, and crowded stores. It is too much snow, or not enough snow. It is airfares and work schedules. There are wish lists that feel more like demand notices. Some years it is just not enough money to do all you want to do. Some years, no job. Some years, loss of a loved one, or someone far away that you are missing incredibly….. there are ever so many things that intrude on the joyous season to steal the “feeling” of Christmas.

For a holy-day celebrated round the world, in desert and mountain, in foreign lands and at home, from coast to coast, every area experiences different weather, and different customs, yet to each there is this thing called “Christmas”.

But still we wonder, what is Christmas supposed to feel like?

I think we will find our answer when we remember the starry night, and the inn with no room, where the greatest story of all history was revealed to simple shepherds, to lowly animals, and to this couple that journeyed far not out of desire, but by mandate, to an unfamiliar land.

For God so loved…. He gave.

Simple yet powerful words.

All of us, in our life’s journey, travel in unfamiliar land. We do not know what lies ahead for us. But a loving God has given us a gift – salvation through Christ – and through that we can have the most amazing gift of all: a relationship with our creator.

Oh reader, do not take it lightly. Do not lose it in the tinsel and glitter of Christmas. Don't toss it aside like the discarded Christmas wrap. It is more than a quaint story. More important than a snowman or a green grinch, or a saint in a suit. While those stories are fun to hear, they are not the true story of the miracle of Christmas. Dare to wrestle through what Christmas is NOT, and have the courage to find what it really is!

Oh please, come let us adore Him!

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