Surrounded by hustle and bustle in my current suburban location, I find myself surrounded by folks who seem determined to have a Charlie Brown Christmas. I hear it in line to check out at the grocery store, ladies talking in the food court at the mall and even on television. I often wonder if they know what they're saying sounds like a quote from Charlie Brown.
"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel." said Charlie Brown. "I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed."
Year after year, I hear other mothers, co-workers and passers-by hum-drumming about how Christmas just doesn't seem right "this year". I hear them talk about how they've done all that they should from buying all the right gifts to decorating up a storm... and yet they are still shoveling all this "Christmas spirit" into a void that can never be filled by such superficial things.
I discovered long ago that Christmas should be about spending time with loved ones, making memories and honoring the Lord God for sending Jesus Christ, His only son, as a baby, born in a humble barn.
Speaking of humble, did I mention that, that this is our new theme at Christmas time? Some people have a snow man theme, some angels and some Santa, etc. This may shock some people, but my five and six-year-olds do not even mention Santa. He does not bring them presents, nor do they write him letters requesting them. We acknowledge him and agree that the whole idea of Santa is neat, but rather than threatening that he won't bring them presents if they are not good, we opt for something a little less conventional. We stop as a family and give money to the homeless people along the road. (Gasp! We really do.) We donate toys to the Angel Tree Project. We talk about giving gifts as a celebration of the ultimate gift that God gave to us - Jesus.
The next time you hear yourself sounding like Charlie Brown under holiday duress, broaden your focus and center on the true meaning of Christmas - and everything else will fall into place.
Merry Christmas,
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