The Weight of Advent

I don't know about you, but this December is the seemingly the most insane December of my recent memory. Which is odd (and maybe a bit of a stretch), considering that the last 2 Decembers were spent either moving in or preparing to move out of a house.

And how like the enemy to want to steal my joy and keep me frantically busy and anxious so that I cannot enjoy or focus on the Advent season. I don't know how, this year in particular, I let myself get so overwhelmed with things to do.

This year I have desired to get serious about Christmas. I really want my work, energy, and celebrations focused on preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ. I can only imagine what an American Christmas must look like from the vantage point of heaven. How ridiculous our pursuits. The trading in of the worship of of the greatest Gift ever given for the worship of the idols of Santa, toys, food, sparkly things, holiday parties, you name it. I will confess that for most of the Christmases of my life this has been me. In my adult years I have enjoyed attending candlelight services on Christmas Eve and am ashamed to admit that these one hour worship events were all of my heart and mind that I gave to Him during a season that it is meant to be all about Him. I offered Him these tiny "Happy Birthday" moments, and literally turned and went back to doing Christmas my way. And I will also tell you, that for every Christmas in my memory, I have always felt the sting of disappointment following a Christmas celebration. After a month of hustle and bustle (in my case, hustling and bustling in idolatry), leading up to one single day, has always left me cold and empty, this despondent feeling that begins to creep in as soon as the last gift is opened. In fact, as a child I distinctly remember always trying to stretch out the opening of my gifts for as many days as possible to avoid that very feeling! And, finally, 31 years in, I understand why the emptiness starts by nightfall on December 25. And I want to right my wrongs, be pleasing unto the Lord, and raise my son to do the same.

I have been reading blogs and articles, looking into both sides of the debate on how Christians should handle Santa Claus. Let me tell you, there are strong, valid, and convicting points on both sides. And I would like to preface this by saying that I am not going to judge or scorn anyone who wants to do Santa Claus for their children. I have no problem with that. My problem comes in my own convictions. Santa is just like chocolate cake. There is nothing in itself wrong with chocolate cake. The cake only becomes a problem when you have too much of it. This can be said for so many things in our world. The real problem occurs when the seemingly harmless object or idea becomes an idol for us. I don't know exactly what Santa is going to look like at house. Noah may help determine that himself. I read several great suggestions on how to include Santa in our celebrations while keeping him small and Christ large. We will definitely read the true story of St. Nicholas, a man who loved Jesus, and demonstrated this by his generosity to the poor. We will still give gifts, though a limit might be added in the future. We will still decorate and bake and gather with loved ones.

Mostly we will prepare to celebrate the birth of a Savior whose arrival signaled the defeat of death and sin. The service we attended at church last weekend was so beautiful and powerful. Our pastor really summed up what we are celebrating and how much easier and more quickly a child is able to grasp the concept of Christmas being all about toys before they are able to understand the birth of the Savior in a barn.

My intention for this post was to write about my wonderful Moms group and our Christmas celebration, which goes along these lines a bit, but it seems I digressed! :) I guess all of this has been swirling around my mind and needed to come out first!

I pray that all of you get more of Him than ever before this Christmas season. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!