Much of my writing begins with a simple question. These questions, that I’m sure are prompted by the Holy Spirit, normally emerge in the early morning hours as I sit, read, journal and pray. Questions like – What is Christmas? And do we really understand the implications of Christ coming into our world? Yes, Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. But what do spend most of our time on during the Christmas season? Thinking about and pondering the wonder of Jesus or trying to create that elusive perfect Christmas for those we love?

Part of the human condition is unsatisfaction. We feel like there should be more of pretty much everything, so we tend to add more and more and more to an already amazingly great thing. And adding on to Christmas is no exception. I wonder if the constant addition is some cases, takes away from the original purpose far too much. More even than we even realize. For me Christmas is one of those things that has been added to far too much. So much so that we miss Jesus, who makes Christmas perfect.

A question was posed to our high school students during this past weekend- “what do you most look forward to at Christmas?”. As I was talking with two young ladies, hearing about the things they looked forward to, they looked at me, waiting for my response. In that moment I had to admit that the thing I most look forward to is when the Christmas season is over. Now before you stop reading and start calling “Grinch”, give me a chance to explain.

Think with me for a minute about all the things that Christmas brings- countless hours shopping looking for that perfect gift. That perfect gift, that always seems to somehow fall short. All that shopping leads to over spending, not only on gifts but on things like eating out, matching pjs and ugly Christmas sweaters. Add to that all the decorating we do: Christmas trees, Christmas lights-inside and outside, snowmen, gingerbread houses, Christmas villages, oh and we can’t forget to set up that small nativity scene because after all Christmas is all about Jesus. We attend Christmas shows, choir and band performances, parties, and while we are at it, we might as well go to at least one Christmas service because we can’t forget Jesus. Let’s not forget the baking that comes only at Christmas time, which as a bonus, comes with an extra ten pounds no one wanted! I’m really not sure why we think we can only eat certain foods at Christmas time. Seriously, can someone explain this one to me? It seems to me that if you want fudge in July, you should just go ahead and make fudge in July. These are just a few of the countless other things that occur during the month of December because each family has its own traditions that get that can’t be forgotten. We are barely into December, and I’m exhausted just thinking about it all.

This is where it gets hard for me. It’s hard, because I love Jesus and I want more than anything to celebrate the great gift of his birth. But can’t help but feel we that so much has been added to creating a “perfect Christmas”, so much time is spent trying to create memories and make everyone happy, that we lose sight of what Christmas really is about. And the thing is, none of these Christmas activities are necessary bad. But have we lost sight of what an amazing gift Jesus is? Do we take time to remember that the perfect Christmas has already happened? Do we really understand and comprehend that God -the God of all creation, chose to come to this place we call earth as a baby?

There is much about Christmas to love. My family has many traditions that we participate in and enjoy like watching those classic Christmas movies: Christmas Vacation and Die Hard, wearing Christmas socks every day of the week, special shopping excursions, and even that love/hate Christmas baking that will be done. But if I’m honest – the whole season creates a great ball of stress and anxiety inside of me. Which leads to me not being able to stop, fully engage and enjoy the wonder of Jesus and this special season with those that I love.

Reading Luke 2 before we even get out of bed on Christmas morning is probably my favorite Christmas tradition. One of us will grab our Bible, the entire family piles on our bed, we read the Christmas story and pray. It was my husband who introduced me to this tradition when we were first married, and it is something we continue to do, it’s something I hope my daughters will pass down to their families one day. In a way it’s a forced pause to remember what we are really celebrating, why this day is so special and who the greatest gift of all time really is-Jesus.

With the idea of pausing and reflecting on the real meaning of Christmas in mind, what I hope to do over the next few weeks is take a deeper look at Luke, chapter 2. My hope is to dig in and spend some time looking at and reflecting on the greatest event in all of history; the birth of our Savior, as well as some of the other people that played a part in this familiar story. Maybe if we begin looking to the right place we will find that satisfaction that cannot be found anywhere else. Maybe we can stop adding on and just celebrate what is- Jesus!

Will you join me in taking some good quality time over these next few weeks to study Luke 2? Where we can learn to ponder like Mary, risk like Joseph, gaze in awe and wonder like the shepherds and seek like the wise men. Let’s join together in not only making room for Jesus, but making him a priority in what and how we celebrate Christmas.