So Christmas is here!
It seems like just a few days ago we were getting ready for the ho-ho-ho of 2015. Man, time flies! Soon these Holidays will be in the past as well.
So it’s time to buckle up, buy up, put up (lights and decorations), and fire up (in order to make that heavenly combination of graham crackers, roasted marshmallows that are burnt on the outside but gooey in the middle, and a piece of chocolate that turns to mush with the heated white goo).
I thought of some ways of purposely making this an enjoyable and fun time of the year. We’ve got to intentional otherwise we may become miserable, especially if people (including some family member), crowds, slow moving lines, and high prices get on your nerves and drive you insane.
Please don’t think I’m a Grinch. My wife and I go to the mall on Black Friday just to be among the crowd. But, truth be told, many get stressed out and shopping folks become mean as snakes while the store music plays Andy William’s, “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.”
To stay sane during this time of the year we’ve got to keep ever present in our minds that Christmas is not as much about candy canes, jingle bells, and the big guy in the red suit as it is about Jesus Christ coming into our world.
It was Love that prompted Him to make the trasition from living in heaven arrayed in all Glory to being born in a lowly stable.
The angel called it,
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).” Matthew 1:23 NIV)
God came to be with us… wow… what a thought!
Remembering and embracing or forgetting and ignoring the real meaning of Christmas will either make or break it for each of us this year.
I know it’s clicheish (forgive me) but worth saying, Jesus is the reason for the season. Keep that in mind at all times.
But why? Because keeping Jesus in the forefront of our thought processes can definitely translate into having self-control when we need it most.
The following scene may play out before you a few times in the next few days.
You’re on a tight schedule so your run out to get something at the store. You’ve been circling the parking lot and you see a young lady with bags coming out of the store. So you follow her at the top speed of 1 mile per hour. When she gets to her car you put your blinker on and smile because you beat everyone else to that spot.
Now you patiently wait for that fellow shopper to transfer the packages unto her car, back up, and drive off.
Then, you see some driver coming your way in the opposite direction and you think, “My blinker’s on buddy” and, “if he takes my spot I’m parking crossways behind him so he can’t get out until I’m done shopping.” (am I the only one with evil thoughts like that?)
Anyway, you wait, and you wait, and you wait for the lady to back up. The people behind you are getting impatient but you don’t care. Then you realize the person in your to-be parking space is sitting in her car checking her phone, maybe updating her Facebook status. And you’re about to lose it.
To add insult to injury the one behind you swerves around you and lands a parking space closer to the front that just become available because some nice person just got in and drove off.
Don’t let insensitive people ruin it for you when you’re in shopping mode. Self control! And remember, Christmas only happens once a year.
I’ll continue part 2 of this blog in a few days. Has what I described happened to you? Please leave me a comment.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the season.
The scene of the Mall crowds with Andy Williams music playing gave me a longing for the real Christmas. Too often we lose focus of the special relationship God wants from us. Love, Hope and Forgiveness in the name of Jesus is the true gift of Christmas. May all come to realize the true Joy of Christmas. Thanks, Jorge
Well said Paul! Thanks.
LOL, Jorge! No, you’re not the only one with ‘evil parking lot’ thoughts! What you said made me laugh and I remembered a parking lot confrontation scene from the movie, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. Check it out on YouTube. It’s pretty funny.
But as you also said, we need to exercise self-control. This is the time of the year when Christians have an excellent opportunity to share with others what Christmas is truly about. More so than any other time of the year, there seems to be an attitude of openness, tolerance, and, dare I say it, good will!
Part of sharing Jesus is personal testimony and how you act and respond to situations when you are out among the crowds. If you let anger, annoyance, and frustration rule your shopping experiences, you damage your testimony and perhaps miss out on an opportunity to be an ambassador for Christ.
The pressure is on us for sure, Jim.