I am an only child. That said, Christmas in my house, for me, was always awesome. Lots of baking to do...some with mom,some with grandma's, sometimes with Aunts... weekend shopping trips with my dad...lots of them, presents to wrap... I dont ever remember a Christmas where I didnt get pretty much every single thing I had asked for.
As I got older I wanted to make those kinds of christmases happen for my children. the big tree, lots of cookie making, craft making, Christmas card sending, and lots of presents under the tree...
And I KNOW that is not the point of Christmas. NOT.AT.ALL.
We don't even celebrate the man in the big red suit... he has a place in history, and my children know of the guy, but they also know our Blessings come from God.
But.....
We still put up a tree...
Do Lots of baking....
wrap bunches of beautifully clad packages....
make wonderful homemade crafts...
send cards to friends near and far....
But do I do ENOUGH to let my children know that it's all about Jesus?
Would it be enough to gather Christmas morning in the living room and sing Praises to our God and Newborn King... if there was no tree? no gifts? no Christmas dinner? no special desserts, no cards sent or received...?
I strugle with this every year since coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. My kids do know the true reason for the season... but would even they want to celebrate if I served hot dogs and chips? and there was no present... not even 1.
Would it even feel like Christmas to me?
Honestly, I would like to say yes... but I just don't know.
Each of my kiddos are getting one thing they asked for, and while we started out trying to stay small, stockings are filled to the brim, 15 different kinds of cookies are in the house, gifts are in abundance, its not all at once. Its a little here and a little there... and all of a sudden it is bigger than I thought it had gotten.
I dont want to be so focused on the things that if we took them away, Christ wouldnt be enough. Because HE is. At least, He ought to be.
But here I am at 2:45 am blogging about what CHristmas should be.... and if I answer honestly ... why I am up.... it was because I was wrapping those oh. so. unimportant gifts.
ouch.
2 comments:
I completely understand! I struggle with future traditions I want for my family- and I honestly don't know how I want to balance things. I know that many of the Jewish holidays center around feasts and celebrations so I believe God is ok with us enjoying a festive atmosphere... but I don't want the festivities to overshadow the true reason for Christmas.
I dealt with the same thing this year.
Post a Comment