The most wonderful time of the year...

So yesterday evening I'm waiting for my friend Christy to meet me outside of the store where I'd planned to finalize all my Christmas shopping. Because I sit on my cutie patootie all the live-long day, I decided to walk from one end of the building to another. There was a jolly little guy manning the Salvation Army bucket at the store's exit. And although his robust "Ho, ho, ho"s seemed slightly odd, they were also kind of cute.

When one couple exited, he wished them a merry "Happy Holidays!" As they walked off, the woman's remark was, "It's Christmas. It's not happy for the parents."

That struck me as so tragic and sad. And I thought of how many households are populated by stressed-out, unhappy parents this time of year. What are those parents teaching their kids about the meaning of Christmas? What kind of associations will they have? How many parents and adults have lost the joy of Christmas in the frantic scramble to "please" their kids, or their holiday guests, or their extended families?

We are totally missing the point.

I thought about how I'm complaining and frustrated about buying gifts this year, feeling the need to "perform"---to get everyone something and to get them a "just-so" something. I mean isn't that what Christmas is about? Giving the perfect gift so you can bring joy to someone else? Maybe not, but that's what tends to drive me. And it's exhausting. And not very happy.

And it's totally missing the point.

May our hearts be stilled and recentered---even now. May we be awestruck and joyful at the thought of the Greatest Gift of God-come-down and the multitude of undeserved blessings we enjoy by God's grace, so that we're experiencing the real meaning of Christmas. And modeling it too.