December is a month that people either adore or despise. I've always been more in the center. Like most things, I'm in the middle unable to choose which side I should be on. Obviously December is the month of Christmas. Or I guess if we're being politically correct, its the holidays. And for some reason it is associated with stress. Everybody gets so busy and has so much that they need to accomplish. Or they have terrible memories of the season that they just dread it every single year. Now I am not one to tell you to stop being so busy, to stop thinking of those terrible memories because I do the same things. Every year I find myself forgetting what it is all really about. I find myself on boxing day, or Christmas day looking back and realizing I not once considered why Christmas exists.
But this year I've been challenged to read the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke. To put myself in their place. The shepherds. Mary and Joseph. The wisemen. Just thinking about being in any of their position would have been amazing. They all heard directly from Angels with a message delivered directly from God. They were given the opportunity to meet the Savior of all the earth shortly after His birth. It was a day of joy. Celebrating the birth of a baby. The birth of our Messiah. The Son of God. It was a time of great jubilation.
So why do we get so stressed out and busy and distracted of its meaning? I can't change how my attitude was at this time last year or the year before. But this year I will be celebrating the birth of my Savior. Choosing to reflect on what it means to have been saved and not mulling on the stresses that mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Merry Christmas. God Bless.
