Over the past few weeks, I have been noticing lots and lots of red/green, Santas, and other popular Christmas must- have's. There are snowflake lights on street posts, for goodness's sake. Wow! It amazes me...the stores have been drenched in Rudolph and jingle bells since before Nov.1st. Of course, they are on the shelves right beside the 75% off skeletons and Power Ranger costumes. I was thinking about it tonight while I was watching my sewing machine fly (so much of my limited brain power is used on pondering life in that basement "mommy" cubby late at night). Most of the time, I go on to bed to continue pondering my deepest life ?s, offer up a prayer, and go on to sleep. Not tonight. Tonight, I need to figure out where the turkey is and how to keep him at my house. Where is the holiday that focuses on thankfulness, gratitude, being content and feeling blessed? The poor ole' turkey is being squeezed out by the greedy pumpkin and the selfish Santa. Please, do not get me wrong. I really like Halloween - dressing up, candy, visiting with neighbors...at one point, I counted over 20 people in my home that night. It was wonderful!! And, Christmas....my goodness, Jesus's birthday, family gatherings, the food, the music, baking cookies.....what a terrific time of year!! But...my point is this - yes, I have one. Halloween and Christmas sell - I get it. Turkeys and Pilgrims do not. Ok. But, I feel like my children are being bombarded with "what did you get?" or "how much candy did you collect?" or "what are you going to ask from Santa?" The real reasons for Halloween and Christmas are being lost. Halloween originated to celebrate the lives of the first Christian martyrs. Christmas is about giving...love, our time, gifts - God's gift of Jesus to us. October's and December's themes of greed are suffocating the life out of November's spirit of thankfulness. I pray that what we talk about and live out at home will teach my children how to get past the ever-popular, heart-set attitude of wanting "more"...always more.
Thanksgiving is my husband's favorite holiday...I love that about him. He is adament that Christmas does not get too eager to arrive...not until the fourth Friday of November anyway. Yet, this time of year my mind often turns to making our Christmas lists and storing up teeth-rottening treats. My traditions in my home should mirror the pulse of my heart....tonight, I am examining my holiday traditions - October, November, and December's. I want those traditions to reflect that we love the Lord and each other and that we are thankful for His glorious creation. I want my children to look back on the traditions we are building now and think about the love, fun and blessings we have shared. I want them to be in awe of how good God has been to us and to be thankful...in plenty and in want. I sooo want Thanksgiving to be the attitude of our hearts year around and especially now during Thanksgiving week...not just a day on a calendar being squeezed on both sides by trick or treating and writing letters to Santa. I want us to be full of joy...not merely happy...I pray our wanting "more" only refers to more of the things that last.
Ok...I am on my way to offer that prayer and go off to sleep now....gobble gobble....and THANKS for letting me share.
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2 comments:
I so agree wuth you. I started feeling this way last year and really started trying to make sure I hold off on Christmas decorations and stress the importance of thanks giving. I found some cute ideas to do with kids all month long to celebrate Thanksgiving.
I am taking a Bible study on christmas right now and am learning that we have this finite limited mind that says Christmas is on Dec. 25th. But, Christmas happened before God even created the earth. He had a plan before in the beginning. We should celebrate Christmas all year round and it should be reflected in our Thanksgiving. God did send the best gift ever and we should be evermindful of that. God also planned Christmas and He wants us to plan our Christmas so that we don't get caught up in the world's version of Christmas. So, don't feel like you can't think about it...you need to. God wants you to plan. He doesn't want you to cram everything that you possibly can into one month and then be overwhelmed. So, relax...be thankful for the birth of our savior and celebrate Christmas while you are giving Thanks!! Maybe I should have just made a post on my blog and sent you the link.
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