Christmas

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas this year. Maybe it is because I have so little to give my girls and have been dealing with my feelings about that. Maybe it is because I am working retail this Holiday season and now I can see what Christmas has really become all about. Or, it could be that I am far from home in a place vastly different from where I grew up where Christmas is warm and there is ZERO chance that it will snow!

Probably it is all of these things combined. I can tell you, though, that I have become so sickened at the way people treat one another at Christmas. I was raised that Christmas was about the birth of our wonderful Lord Jesus and that it is a time for family. Don't get me wrong, we gave and received presents, too. One year I got a horse! That was AWESOME! But, you know the reason I remember that so clearly was because of the way she was given to me. My mom took the time to plan a surprise the night before Christmas. We had gone to church where Mom sang for the Christmas Eve service. When we got home, I carried her guitar into the house and when I got inside, she was already standing at the back door with the back door opened. When I walked out, there was Sally with a big red bow tied in her tail and a sign hanging from her back saying "Merry Christmas Heather!" It was awesome! I remember how excited Mom was by my excitement.

Well, as usual, I got off on a rabbit trail! I guess it just makes me sad to see how people can be so ugly to one another over stupid things. Things that will just break or be thrown under the bed before they can even be fully enjoyed. Things that will, in some cases, not even be "good enough" and will bring guilt and sadness to the giver. The only gift worthy of being given at Christmas, is the original Christmas gift, Jesus. And, if only people put as much worth in relationship and each other as He did, not only would Christmas be a happier time, but so would every day.

One night I had a mom come through my line who was grumbling about how much money she was spending on her son and she just couldn't believe she was spending so much, blah, blah, blah. Through the course of her checkout, I discovered that this child was her youngest and only 3 years old. She spent over $600 on him just that trip and from what she said, she still needed to pick up a few more things. I was just appalled! I am glad to say that I haven't seen that kind of extravagance again for just one child. Most people this year seem to get that there is a financial crisis going on. I hear some people talk about it like, oh well, we'll just spend what we have and figure it out from there. That too, is sad. It is just sad that we, American's who are living in a "Christian" country, have lost the true meaning of Christmas.

I know that I haven't rocked the world with my thoughts on Christmas and that what I see is nothing new. But, this year I am just hugely impacted and saddened by what I see. For Christmas this year, I got the girls just a few little things. On Christmas day, I plan for them to open their gifts and then we are going to go spend some time on the beach. After that we will probably just come home and spend some good, solid, quality time together over mugs of hot cocoa. My desire is to make THIS a tradition with my girls. A legacy of time well spent and memories made. Things that will not break or be thrown under the bed.

Merry Christmas to all and God bless you this Christmas and New Year!