Christmas. It either brings out the best or the worst in women. There is the woman who buys gifts in August and is all done by September. Her baking is done by November and in the freezer. Her decorations are up the day after Thanksgiving. She takes her children caroling. She has gifts for the teachers, pastors, mail person, newspaper delivery person. On Christmas Eve she is calm, dressed impeccably, has everything ready for Christmas morning. You get the picture. Everything is done and looks so pretty. I am not that woman.
There is also the woman who is angry about all of the demands the holidays put on her life. The changes in her schedule. The strain on her budget. The expectations of family and friends. She would rather not participate. I am not this woman either.
I love the holidays. For me they start in August. We have several family birthdays from August through to October. Then comes Thanksgiving in November and then Christmas in December and then more birthdays in January. In spite of my best laid plans I am never as ready as I would like to be. More often than not things happen at the last minute. But that is part of the fun. My son looks forward to the baking marathon. He helps his Dad put up the lights. We love the sparkle of the lights, the shine of the decorations, the deep reds and golds, and silvers. Not everything gets put up. Not everything gets baked. Not all of the plans come to be. And it's ok.
All three of us are Christian Women. The Perfectionist, The Overwhelmed, and The Fly by the Seat of Her Pants. What I pray is we don't lose sight of what the celebration is all about. I know, I know the actual season Christ was born was Spring. I personally don't think the date is all that important. What IS important is to recognize the gift that God gave to mankind. We could debate the pagan origins of modern holidays. But what does that accomplish? In my humble opinion those debates detract and possibly dissuade people from believing in the miracle of Christ. For me Christmas is the beginning of Easter. God sent a sacrifice to redeem mankind from sin. That redemption brings restoration. That restoration means that I, little imperfect me, can now walk with God through the garden of my life. I can hear his voice when he calls my name and says come walk with me and lets talk. Ladies, this is the beauty of Christmas. Please don't get caught up in all of the trappings but pause and rest in the peace of restoration to fellowship with God our creator.
Thank You Lord for this most precious of all gifts.
There is also the woman who is angry about all of the demands the holidays put on her life. The changes in her schedule. The strain on her budget. The expectations of family and friends. She would rather not participate. I am not this woman either.
I love the holidays. For me they start in August. We have several family birthdays from August through to October. Then comes Thanksgiving in November and then Christmas in December and then more birthdays in January. In spite of my best laid plans I am never as ready as I would like to be. More often than not things happen at the last minute. But that is part of the fun. My son looks forward to the baking marathon. He helps his Dad put up the lights. We love the sparkle of the lights, the shine of the decorations, the deep reds and golds, and silvers. Not everything gets put up. Not everything gets baked. Not all of the plans come to be. And it's ok.
All three of us are Christian Women. The Perfectionist, The Overwhelmed, and The Fly by the Seat of Her Pants. What I pray is we don't lose sight of what the celebration is all about. I know, I know the actual season Christ was born was Spring. I personally don't think the date is all that important. What IS important is to recognize the gift that God gave to mankind. We could debate the pagan origins of modern holidays. But what does that accomplish? In my humble opinion those debates detract and possibly dissuade people from believing in the miracle of Christ. For me Christmas is the beginning of Easter. God sent a sacrifice to redeem mankind from sin. That redemption brings restoration. That restoration means that I, little imperfect me, can now walk with God through the garden of my life. I can hear his voice when he calls my name and says come walk with me and lets talk. Ladies, this is the beauty of Christmas. Please don't get caught up in all of the trappings but pause and rest in the peace of restoration to fellowship with God our creator.
Thank You Lord for this most precious of all gifts.
Great! God bless you for this wonderful concise yet profound article.I am not moved by the search of the exact date and the role medieval era played in the formation of Christmas. What i am concern about is the purpose: The season God gave us His Son.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you John and Debbi Hanks