Many a message has been spread
about seeking the true meaning of Christmas which most know has nothing to do with Black
Friday, piles of packages under a tree, or the overeating that comes with
holiday gatherings. Each year, I
come up with a plan to finish my shopping early so I can lead my family towards
the real reason for the season. As
the days pass and Christmas quickly approaches, my shopping is still not
complete and the many Christmas events I’ve attended still leave me searching
for that one clear moment where I can look my children in their eyes and say, "Yes! This is Christmas." But, it doesn’t
come. It’s never that clear to
me. And sometimes, it comes with a heaviness of failing to make things perfect. Perhaps I’m waiting for a
bright star overhead to lead me to a place that I can’t find on Google
maps. Christmas day will soon pass and as I collapse on my couch in a living
room full of torn wrapping paper and empty boxes, I’ll fault myself for never
showing my kids that clear moment that I believe is Christmas.
Maybe Christmas is more than just a
single event, place, or time. As I
woke this morning knowing that my family was all home under one roof, my heart filled with
joy. As I saw the empty cups and
plates on the kitchen counter, I knew that the night before had been filled
with fellowship, laughter and a few tasty treats. The stack of wrapping paper
in the corner with its bright foils reminds me that I still have packages to
wrap and may never actually get to the end of my Christmas list. A sleeping cat rests underneath
our Christmas tree that proudly displays ornaments that tell the story of our
lives, some ornaments dating back over 100 years.
The gentleness of mornings like this is part of the bigger picture that
makes up Christmas. While I’ve been
looking for that one defining moment, it is actually all around me.
When we go to church Sunday as a
family and sneak candy to each other during the sermon, it’s because Christmas
brought us all there and those moments are far better than anything wrapped
under my tree. The laughter that
echoes down the hallway late at night when my children’s friends gather here,
that is Christmas. Hearts
returning home in celebration of the birth of Christ, that is what makes the
season joyous. From foil wrapping
paper to Christmas choirs, movies with friends, and laughter around the dinner
table, that is my Christmas. Removing
the cat from the Christmas tree, trying to build some gift that came with no
instructions and making yet another trip to the grocery store for more food, these are the
things that all come together to make Christmas grand.
Christmas, today, is not a single
moment of pure joy that rises above everything else. It is a series of blessings that come quietly at times and
loudly at others. That single
perfect moment occurred many years ago when a young woman caught the attention
of the world with the birth of her child. That gift came quietly in the night and is the reason
for the many moments of joy we find now as we gather with family during the
holiday season. Christmas cannot
be wrapped up, contained or plotted on a map, as it is a blessing that has carried
forward for over 2000 years. It is a season of love that comes with perfection already built in.
