This time of year seems to magnify our emotions.  A lot of lip service is paid to having a holly jolly Christmas, but for many it is a very lonely time.  Isolated and without family, it can be a very trying time for some.

I wax and wane with these feelings during Christmas.  The seemingly over-exuberance of fun others seem to have makes me feel like I am missing out on something.  Like I am not part of the club – whatever “club” that might be.  Stores are filled with hustle and bustle.  Roads are jammed with busy travelers.  But something is missing.

I’ve taken time off from work this week and next and have not yet felt like I can relax.  Everything is caught up in the blur of preparations.  We have three family Christmases to celebrate, and we’ve also have some work celebrations.  These all take time to get ready for and once the event is over, it’s on to the next.  Even when nothing is happening, the tape that plays over and over in my head is filled with the unfinished business for the next gathering.  But busyness is a poor substitute for meaning.

When I was a kid, Christmas was the most special time of year.  It was all about the food, cutting your own tree, beautiful lights, friends, family, baking cookies, and waiting.  Why have things changed so much?  Well, now we are the ones putting it all together.  Being a kid, you just sat back and enjoyed the time.  Is it possible to put the genie back in the bottle?

I think that is the challenge and what we all are faced with.  Stop the hours of shopping, preparing, cleaning, running, and this and that.  This week, I have wanted to go see a movie or two, maybe bowling, playing family games, making lefse, and other family fun.  So far, no go . . .  Even though I might have cleared the decks, if everyone else hasn’t, then we still have an issue.  We ALL need to be on board.  It’s a purposeful effort.

It really doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we do it together.  So far this season, we have not got into the “family time” groove… yet.  We have another week of vacation–and another opportunity.  I hope you too can clear the decks, slow down, and add additional mortar to those special relationships in your life.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more”. ~Dr. Seuss

Remember whose birth we celebrate this Christmas season.  Without Him and what He did for us, we are lost.  It is only through Jesus that we are able to freely give that gift of love to others.  What we give was first given to us. Happy birthday, Jesus!  Don’t forget Him.  He is the reason for the season.