Sprinkling Our Days

Well, Thanksgiving is behind us and everyone is now looking ahead to Christmas (if they weren’t already).

Like many others, the Christmas season is my favorite time of the year.

Christmas music is played (at times quite loudly in our home) and cards sent. Candles lit. Decorations brought out. Goodies made. Shoeboxes packed to ship to children overseas, or items gathered to go under an angel tree. Christmas stories read. Lists made and celebrations planned.

I love so much about this season!

What’s Disturbing About the Christmas Season

However, there are a few things that disturb me. A biggie is the commercialism that threatens to swallow up the Christmas of love and promise and spit it out as a time of greed and shallowness. Each year, shopping fever begins earlier and earlier.

Anymore, Thanksgiving is simply a time to get through—synonymous with a day off work and great deals at the stores. And just as the time for reflecting on God’s blessings and provisions often gets buried beneath layers of self, so too is the tendency when it comes to remembering our Savior’s birth.

But for me, frustration at the busyness of the season is even more concerning.

Each year, as Christmas approaches, I hear people pledge to slow down during the season, to say no to more, and prepare less—to reduce the stress, so they can focus on its meaning. And, I even know of some that are successful.

I am not one of them!

It’s not that I don’t want to create more margin in my life, especially during the Advent season. The problem is daily obligations don’t just disappear with the beginning of the holidays.

Not only does supper still need to be served, clothes washed, and work duties performed, but school activities continue for the children and now Christmas concerts, caroling, and holiday festivities are thrown in.

If I’m not careful, guilt at the lack of time creeps in (through the gate of exhaustion), making me feel like a failure and stealing the joy of the season.

If we're not careful, guilt at the lack of time can creep in, making us feel like a failure and stealing our joy. Share on X

Sprinkling Our Moments With Meaning

After years of beating myself up and making pledges I couldn’t keep, I finally came to the realization that large amounts of disposable time (and money) will likely not be mine for quite awhile. Therefore, I’ve had to develop shorter ways to keep Christ at the center of our Christmas.

After all, it isn’t the amount of time I have, but how I spend the time that determines how meaningful the holiday season is for me and my family.

Jesus is placed as the centerpiece of our preparations and activities in a variety of ways.

• Songs and stories of the Christ-child are incorporated into rare “free” evenings as well as during snippets of time gleaned from a day of activity.
• Nativity scenes, the Christmas tree, and other decorations all point to the reason for celebrating.
• Frequently lit candles remind us of the Light that came into the world on that miraculous night more than 2,000 years ago.
• And gift-giving is painted as a reflection of the Greatest Gift of All.

Don’t get me wrong. I am conscious of the need to simplify during a month when and in a culture where extravagant is becoming the norm. And I rejoice with those who are able to increase margin in their lives.

But most importantly, whether our holiday season is one of relaxing reflection or hectic serving, in a world where “X” is rapidly replacing “Christ” in Christmas, Christians need to find ways to weave the true meaning of Christmas into the very fabric of their days.

Christians need to find ways to weave the true meaning of Christmas into the very fabric of their days. Share on X

Redeeming the season is as “simple” as sprinkling our moments with the truth of the Savior.

Redeeming any season is as 'simple' as sprinkling our moments with the truth of the Savior. Share on X

Reflections: What ways do you redeem the season? Are there additional ways you can think of to “sprinkle” the truth of Christ into the Christmas season? I’d love to hear them!

“I bring good news to you–wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. … When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:10–11; 17–18).