It's been way too long once again since I've had time to write. As the holidays draw near every year, I promise myself that I will slow down and really enjoy the season. However, that never seems to happen. The holidays are supposed to be about love, kindness, patience, good cheer and giving. A very Christ-like sentiment.
But it seems that it is totally the opposite for most of us. There's impatience waiting in long lines at the registers, no love for those around us vying for the same sweater we want, no kindness for the person in line ahead of us with 50 items in the "20 items only" lane, so much giving that our finances are stretched out to the max, and forget any good cheer. Why do we do this to ourselves every year?
During a time in which we should be celebrating the greatest gift ever given to mankind, we are so pushed to our limits that we can't slow down long enough to even acknowledge Christ. Shop, shop, shop! Plan, plan, plan! Cook, cook, cook! Off to Grandma's and Grandpa's! Then to Aunt Shirley's! Run quickly to Cousin Bob's! Mush! Mush! Faster and faster! We over extend ourselves to the point that either we are too tired to be any good for anything, or too crabby for anybody to want to be around us. We need to STOP IT! Two simple words that will make your life so much more simple and enjoyable. Here's another good one: NO. As much as we want to do everything and be with everyone, sometimes we need to say "NO" and put the brakes on our lives that seem to run out of control constantly. Maybe then we will get back to focusing on the real reason for the season.
As I looked at the songs we sing every year in church at Christmas, none of them are about shopping, eating, running from place to place. They are about the things that mattered. "Silent Night", "Away in a Manger", "Joy to the World", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", etc... it's all about Jesus. Try to take time in the last few days of this year to say no to a few more parties, places and things, and say yes to spending more time with Jesus.
God's blessings,
Pastor Brian
