Relax! It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  

Luke 2:11-14

I was once told that it isn’t Thanksgiving without green bean casserole.  As if green beans, mushroom soup and fried onions make us thankful.  Could we not be thankful if we gathered around pizza or hot dogs? 

I think the lack of celebrating Thanksgiving in its purest sense by being deeply grateful is what leads people straight into having a materialistic Christmas. If we don’t acknowledge our thankfulness for all we have then we feel we need more.  And more and more. 

There’s even a current commercial being run that boasts it can give you “more Christmas for your money.”  We are being sold the lie that Christmas means having as much as your credit card will allow.  And when we buy it then our focus on what’s truly important becomes very fuzzy. 

We can get so caught up in the rituals and traditions that we forget the true meaning of the holidays.  Green bean casserole is nice (so they say!) and so is turkey.  Gifts are wonderful and so is spending time with family. 

But so much emphasis is put on having the picture-perfect Rockwell holiday that many feel left out when they can’t live up to those expectations.  And that’s when people become depressed during the holidays.  I know.  I’ve spent a number of holidays that looked more like a Picasso. But Picassos are beautiful, too, you just have look a little deeper and remember...

it’s about the Lord, not us. 

Christmas is about celebrating the birth of the Christ Child.  The Savior of all mankind came to take away the sins of the world!  How awesome is that?! Celebrating Him begins in our hearts, not on a Martha Stewart dinner table and not with a lot of charged-up gifts under a lighted tree that will take half the next year to pay.

No matter where we are, no matter what’s going on around us, if we have family or not, if we have money for gifts or not, we are the richest when Jesus lives in our hearts and we celebrate Him.

And if we have spaghetti for Christmas, so what?  Have it with gusto and thank God for it!   After all, Jesus’ birthday wasn’t picture perfect, either.  But the joy in the stable and beyond was immeasurable. 

If you’re having a difficult time this Christmas and you’d like some prayer, I’d be more than happy to pray for you.  Just leave a comment or send me an email.  Or you can click on A Place for Prayer Requests at the top. 

God bless you!

Dorci