Been Thinkin' About Christmas

Been Thinkin’ About….Christmas

By John W. Vander Velden

When December rolls around our thoughts seem focused on Christmas.  It seems that the holiday is an important part of everyone’s year…and that’s good…or at least it can be.  But so much of what is tied to Christmas overwhelms us all.  We should be prepared for even in January we understand that December brings Christmas but…well it’s life isn’t it.

So what does the holiday mean to you?  There are the gifts, and meals, and of course Ho, Ho, Ho, in the red suit.  There is family and friends, and people, well most people, seem just a little more cheerful.  Charities get a boost in December as well.  All these things are good.  But what does Christmas mean to you?  That’s what I asked when I opened this paragraph, and it is what really what matters, don’t you think.  Each of us brings something different to the table when it come to the holidays, and it is the blend of all these differences that make the holidays special.

I listed some of the things that come to mind around Christmas time.  Certainly there are other things as well.  And each of them is good…good on their own merit.  But they are not really the center of the season.  Most are “side effects” from what Christmas is.  You know where I’m going, and we’ll get there later.  For all the stuff that we tie to Christmas…all the obligations…all the purchases…all the drama…all the everything, can cloud what Christmas really means, what Christmas is really about.  We get so overwhelmed we don’t take the time to just think about Christmas…the real, cold no room at the hotel child in a manger, Christmas.  And even that is only part of the magnificent story.  I am always reminded of the tale Paul Harvey told each December, “The Story of the Birds”.  I remember hearing it year after year and each time the message rang so true.  You see the old man attempted to save the birds but couldn’t.  No matter how he tried he could not convince them that to go into the barn and survive the winter storm.  I loved the story though I had heard it many times and knew the powerful line that revealed its meaning…”If only I was a bird, I could show them the way…”

That’s Christmas.  God chose to send his Son to become one of us…to show us the way.  You see all those other “side effects” are good things, when we tie them to the real source.  But we cannot let them get in the way of “Christmas”.  For at its core Christmas is about love…”for God so loved the world he sent his Son”…to save us.  God loves you, God loves me…and we should love each other.  When we really get to the center of it, that’s all there is to Christmas…and there’s nothing more to think about.

(496 Words)     12-18-2016