christmas

In Asia, it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit. There was no gently falling snow on the ground. No stores piped in Jingle Bells or Santa’s Coming to Town. A bank near us put out a sad, fake, sparkly tree one year. (They left it up all year, so then it just became a tree).

In later years, we did see more evidence of the holiday – cheap decorations sold in stalls at the market, salespeople wearing Santa hats in stores, Christmas sales. But altogether, it was easy to miss Christmas if you weren’t looking for it.

Here, you’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Christmas is on its way.

Our decoration-loving neighbors had their lawn decked out a month ago. (it honestly did not occur to us that we could decorate our lawn the first year back in the U.S. We’ve never had lawn). We have 6 Christmas parties this week alone. On the TV, in stores, in conversations – you know it’s Christmas. The sheer number of opportunities to celebrate overwhelms me like the toothpaste aisle used to when we’d come back to visit from Asia (seriously, how many kinds do we need?). You could be doing something Christmasy every minute.

But you could still miss Christmas.

Presents, Christmas cards, decorating the house (and apparently the yard), stocking stuffers, parties, and in the midst of it creating meaningful and lasting memories with the kids – all on the agenda. I could busy, distract, snack, and bake my way all the way through this holiday without settling into the reason we celebrate it.

Let’s walk through this season with awe and wonder at the love that was shown to us through God sending Jesus to live among us.

As we wait, let’s linger with Him.

Ponder the hope, peace, joy, and love this season brings.

When we look up at the stars, imagine following one of them with hope overflowing in us.

Breathe peace in the midst of chaos.

May each card and greeting remind us of the joy of all God gives us.

Let’s feel our worth, and our belovedness proven by Christ’s coming.

Let’s not miss Christmas this year.