Images from the Ranch

Images from the Ranch

Monday, December 23, 2013

Are You Ready For Christmas?


                “Are you all ready for Christmas?”  It’s a familiar topic of conversation this time of year; for some reason we all like to see if anyone is more or less prepared than we are!   “Am I ready for Christmas?”  When it comes to all of the traditions and preparation that our family does to get ready for this holiday, I usually answer with an exasperated and frazzled, “No, not at all!”  Shopping, Christmas Tree hunting, decorating, cookie baking, wrapping, cards written and sent, packages sent, school parties, Church programs, concerts, dinner planning; whewy!  It makes a body tired just writing down all that needs to be done.

It’s always been so interesting to me how as women at this busy time we can divide ourselves into two groups: those who start Christmas early and are ready well before the big day; they are organized and have a well thought out plan as to what needs to be done in order to create a memorable holiday with the least amount of stress.  Then there are those who procrastinate until the very last minute and are scrambling like crazy to get everything accomplished in the last few days before Christmas.   I fall into that category.  Each morning Kade changes the cactus on his Cowboy Santa Advent Calendar and comes out to announce to me how many days we have left until December 25th.  Each morning I find myself shocked that it’s getting closer and closer!  Here it is December 23rd, and we are just now getting ready to take a trip to town to do our Christmas shopping!  We were so frazzled trying to get a tree cut that I was actually prepared to (gasp) buy a fake tree (much to the dismay and adamant refusal of Hannah!).  Maybe we’ll get some Christmas baking done on Christmas Eve, but more than likely I will go and buy some of those really soft & yummy sugar cookies at IGA, just so we have something to leave for Santa.

                I think that one of the reasons that I find myself so harried this time of year is because I refuse to even start thinking about Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.  I want to enjoy one holiday at a time; and although I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that way of thinking, I end up about a month behind every year!  At the end of every Christmas season I always tell myself that next year is going to be different, and yet each Christmas I find myself scurrying around trying to get things ready to make a picture perfect holiday for my family.  Meanwhile my family is telling me that I’m acting like a crazy Christmas person, sucking all of the fun and joy out of a celebration that is supposed to be joy filled and fun.  I am so grateful that God has blessed me with a man who balances out my crazy with his  calm, because Mike continually reminds me that I need to settle down and remember what and why we are celebrating.

                What and why are we celebrating?  Am I ready for Christmas?  These questions have given me reason to pause and ponder my answer.  I suppose that it’s different for everyone; we each have our own attitudes, mindsets and beliefs about what this season is all about.  I really do love all of the celebrating that goes along with this time of year, and yet I think that I tend to allow all of the outward trappings of Christmas to get in the way of celebrating Christ.  The presents and the decorations and the baking and the parties and the Christmas meals are all wonderful “wrappings”, but the true gift is Jesus.  I love the simplicity of the story told in Luke: “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  This story has been told so many times that I think we lose the wonder and majesty of it.  And I wonder if I’ve become like one of the many people in crowded Bethlehem at that time.  I wonder if I am bustling around so much preparing to celebrate Christmas, that I’ve missed seeing the Messiah.  I’ve left no room for Jesus in the Inn either; I’ve allowed my life to become so crowded with stuff and activities that I’ve not allowed myself to slow down and look for Jesus. 

                If it were just the story of the miracle of this baby’s birth, then I think that the way we go about our days preparing for Christmas would be just fine.  But the story of his birth is just the beginning; it’s the story of the Cross and the tomb that make the difference as to how I want to celebrate Christmas!  Because it all comes down to the fact that in Jesus, in this little baby that was born in such lowly and humble circumstances, we have life!  John 20:31 says, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  When we believe in Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior, Lord and King, we are given life.  And not just abundant life here on earth, but eternal, everlasting, never ending life with Him in heaven!!  Now that is something to celebrate!

                I think about the shepherd’s reaction to the message they received from the angels, it immediately had them seeking Christ.  And then when they found Him, their excitement couldn’t be contained; it bubbled over and motivated them to go out and tell everyone about what they had just seen and experienced.  “After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished.” (Luke 2:17-18 NLT).  I don’t want to be like one of the crowd; going about my day, going about this holiday focused on all of the things that need to be done, all of the presents that need to be bought, worried about whether or not I’m leaving someone out and then stressed about all of the money we are spending.  I want to be like those shepherds!  I want the excitement and the wonder of Jesus’ birth, of the fact that God came down to us as a tiny baby, to just bubble over in my life.  I don’t want to contain the joy that I have because of Jesus, and I want to share it with others so that they can also be amazed. 

                The next time that the question,“Are you ready for Christmas?” is asked, I plan on changing the context of it to mean “Are you ready to celebrate Christ?  Have you thought about what it means that God came down to us as a newborn baby?  Do you believe that Jesus wants to give you joy and peace and everlasting life?  Have you made room for Him in your heart, or has He been moved to a stable in some far off corner of your life?”  I know that asking myself these questions has changed the way that I see and celebrate this Christmas season.  I hope that it does the same for you, and that you find that celebrating Christ doesn’t need to happen just during the Christmas season, but is something that we can celebrate every day.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men whom He is pleased!” Luke 2:14