You Can't "Get" Christmas...

I feel irritated this morning.  But let me backtrack.

I really love this time of year.  I am ready to pull out the Christmas music, Thanksgiving is coming, and, admittedly, I ordinarily even make an annual Black Friday shopping trip.  So before anyone decides that I am indignant and self righteous, let's get this one thing straight.  I am just as materialistic as the next person.  I am not proud of this... at all.  It has been a struggle my entire life.  I've been working on it for years, and there are moments in which I think I have it licked.  But if I'm not careful it will come back to bite me.

I really enjoy giving gifts at Christmas.  I can sometimes be "over the top".  There have been years in which I have shopped, sporadically, for 365 days, just to find the "perfect" gift.  We made the front page of the newspaper one year, because our kids were sprawled out in a shopping cart at 4:00am the day after Thanksgiving.  I am the mom who is willing to fight it out at Target for the last camera or hit every Toys R Us for the Strawberry Shortcake house.  In case anyone has forgotten, I am an adrenaline junkie, so I think the experience is actually just about as much fun for me as the actual purchase.  I enjoy having a story to tell.

We have had Christmases on which the entire living room floor was covered in packages.  Last year, in the midst of financial struggles, we sat the kids down and told them that we probably would not have much in the way of presents.  They were absolutely fine with that, even reminding us that Christmas isn't really about presents, at all.  Phil and I also cancelled a surprise vacation that had been in the works for five years.  As a mom, I felt pretty crumby about what our "Christmas" was going to look like.  Amazingly enough, through a series of crazy events and deal shopping, we did, indeed, spend Christmas Day in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World after all!  So when I write this, please understand that I know full well that I do not really grasp the desperate situations that most of the population of the world has to endure.  God has always provided for everything we need and even most of what we want.  I understand this.

This year is going to be a little different.  If last year looked like it was going to be a meager Christmas spread (even though it turned out almost excessive), this year really is going to be on the light side.  I don't feel awful about it.  In fact, I love knowing that my children are going to be thankful for Christmas, regardless of whether or not there are packages under the tree (which there will be... some...).  I love knowing that my oldest four children have all asked Jesus to live in their hearts and that they are seeking to follow Him more every day.  I love that we will wake up on Christmas morning, read the story of Jesus' birth, celebrate the Eucharist, and then spend the day dozing on the couch and futon (broken down as they may be), snuggling, watching Christmas DVDs and listening to Christmas music.   

 And with that, let's get back to the reason I was feeling so frustrated...

I keep hearing people say things like, "I don't have enough money to 'get' Christmas this year," or, "We aren't going to 'have' Christmas this year".  I am watching people as they advertise on social networking sites that they need someone to "get" them Christmas, because they can't afford it.

HELLO!  You can't "get" Christmas!  Jesus is Christmas!

I probably needed this perspective as much as anyone.  But I just felt compelled to share it.  So as we head toward the advent season, let's all remember that in little or plenty there is a reason for this celebration that far surpasses packages and bows. 

L.