After a beautiful, unexpectedly extended weekend, I finally feel a connection to this Christmas season. Every year, around Thanksgiving I participate in one of those email surveys about whether you prefer gift bags to wrapping paper, what your favorite Christmas special is, and what you find most annoying about the season. For me the answer is always, WORK. I never feel truly prepared when I have to try to squeeze in all of my Christmas preparations with my regular weekend chores and errands. And it becomes difficult not to see Christmas preparations as just that, another chore or errand. Lost are the days of childhood anticipation and excitement, which I can still vividly recall.As I blogged about back in the winter of 2007, God gives us what we need, because he knows what we need. We just need to be open to seeing these things as gifts from God. On Thursday I was to have an annual Dr. visit and had planned to do some errands following the appointment. At the very last minute the office called to cancel, due to the dr.'s illness. After briefly being let down and annoyed at the thought of a wasted sick day, I took a deep breath and saw it as a gift. I could now just focus on Christmas and the things I wanted to get done. Then on Friday, the gift of our first SNOW DAY. A day to put my children on the bus, run to the store for baking supplies before the storm hit, and begin some cookies before my children were safely delivered back home to me via the best bus driver on earth. I honestly felt euphoric, as I had cookies baking, Christmas music playing and a yummy lunch planned for my kids.
Later that night on Dateline, I caught the Reverend Rick Warren promoting his new book, The Purpose of Christmas. I listened and made a mental note to whip it in the cart the next time I was at WalMart.
A snowy Saturday followed and I spent a good part of the day in my bathrobe watching a marathon of What Not to Wear. I managed to have an outing later that evening with my son to get some groceries at Wonder Walmart where I saw Rick's books and as promised, whipped it in the cart, under the justification that it was a Christmas gift for our 85+ year old family friend whom I never know what to get. I figured I'd better just look through it at home to be sure it would be "her". Tonight I sat and read the book from cover to cover and decided that yeah, she'd like it.
I have never really lost touch with the true meaning of Christmas, and often get mad at myself when I get lost in the commercialness of it all, or get my children too much. But I do know why we celebrate it and am very much in touch with Jesus at this time of year, especially. Recently, in church, we had a guest priest. His homily was very comical as he talked about what we can do to be more in touch this season. He gave some tips. I won't bother to go into full detail, but he closed with having us watch for a Christmas sign. Some little tiny aha moment that connects you with what is real. A sign from Jesus if you will. He shared his sign as he'd already had his moment. He suggested that while we wait in long lines at stores, that we let someone get ahead of us who has MORE in their cart...as a gesture of kindness. A few days later as he was running from St. Mary's in Oswego to say mass in Hannibal, he stopped at the IGA for a coffee and the cashier was very slow..and he was afraid of being late. Suddenly, as he stood waiting to pay for his coffee, a woman came up behind him with a full cart of groceries. He laughed out loud knowing that he was supposed to follow his own advice and offer to let her in front of him. It was really a funny story and I held on to that waiting for my moment.
Last week at my house was VERY stressful and I was wondering how I was going to make it through. I knew that I needed to just focus on my kids and make it a happy week for them despite the pressures that were surrounding us. I gave up my annual Christmas BOOK CLUB celebration to be the mom I needed to be for my kids...and to try to keep some normalcy at home. While doing some errands in Oswego while Jillian was at dance, and trying to focus on the little things, like my Dunkin' Donuts coffee...I saw it. My little Christmas sign. A fully suited SANTA CLAUS driving a Centro bus. That was it. I started crying right there in the P&C parking lot. God was telling me to keep it all in perspective...that I am doing the right thing...and that it is going to be a Merry Christmas for my kids, therefore for myself too.
So the purpose of Christmas is love basically...and I really want to just focus on that for these next few days. Merry Christmas everyone!
