Are you ready for Christmas? I have a plan. Whether or not the plan works out remains to be seen...but I have one. I know what I want to get everyone on my list. I think if I waddle my way around the various stores this week, I'll be able to cross off the gifts without too much trouble.
I didn't decorate my house this year. I haven't baked any Christmas cookies. I didn't put out any lights to let the world know that the Light of the World was born over 2000 years ago. I miss my various trees and the little nativity sets I place all around the house. I have attended a couple of choir specials at church, but haven't made it to any Christmas parties yet. I wrapped one gift for a dear friend in Kentucky and managed to get it in the mail. Other than that, I've been too wrapped up in dental appointments, selecting essentials for our new home's down-sizing project to think much about Christmas and all its trappings. To be honest, some of the trappings are just that. Traps. Some folks allow themselves to step into the trap of pleasing everyone they know who are simply impossible to please.
It's kinda like trying to make the professionally unemployed happy. No amount of benefits, housing, and care that the government gives them is enough. They always want more, expect more, demand more. They're like selfish children in throes of Christmas frenzy. They get so caught up in getting presents that they forget to be grateful for what they receive.
I see that atheists down in Texas are up to their normal Grinch-ism. They're trying to have one town remove the Nativity scene from the town square. All I can say to that is, "don't mess with Texas"; they aren't going to let some narrow-minded minority voice tell them how to celebrate Christmas. I also read where a school somewhere banned the shoebox ministry wherein Christmas boxes are sent free to children around the world. They stopped children from bringing in items to fill them. Seems the school was upset that the packages contained... get this-- a message about Jesus and his birth. Uh, yeah. Isn't that what Christmas is all about?
We took our little granddaughters to see the lights in Elmer Park in Lawton. They were so excited to see the dancing trees, snowmen, and colorful displays. They liked them so much we took them through the neighborhoods to see how people decorated their homes for Christmas. They oohed and aahed and were thrilled with every snowman, santa, and reindeer. Only a handful of all the houses had any reference to religion and Jesus. However, that did not stifle the spirit in 5-year-old Kinsey. As we were nearing our house, she announced, "Grama, I just love Christmas! Cuz it's Jesus' birth!" You have to love the innocence of her statement. Amid the Santas and Snowmen, the Savior was born to give man hope for eternity and Kinsey knew it.
There is so much hope in knowing that amid the "things" of earth which so easily capture our attention, that God still offers the greatest hope. He doesn't change His mind about His gift. He doesn't take it back. He doesn't exchange it for something else--there is none better. He gave us His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will have everlasting life. Not trimmings. Not cookie crumbs. Not lights that come down after December 25th. No. He gives us the real deal--it doesn't fall apart or breakdown or lose it's power. The perfect Gift of His Love and Light: Jesus, Emanuel.
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