The older I get, the more I hear the phrases, "I don't feel in the Christmas spirit," or "It doesn't feel like Christmas this year." Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people excited about Christmas and ready to celebrate. But for those of you who can't help but feel a certain tinge of apathy toward the holidays...I have a few words.
Maybe it's because of the stress of finals, and you have no time to even think about Christmas. Maybe it's because there isn't a significant other to share your holiday with. Or maybe it's because there's just too much real life going on for you to sit back and enjoy your holiday season.
I know what it's like to not feel Christmas-y enough, but really wanting to. No matter how hard you try, you can't generate enough Christmas spirit for yourself. There's not a lot of love or generosity stirring in your heart, and so Christmas feels like a tired sigh.
There are many traditions that come around during Christmas. Traditions help create that cheery, holiday atmosphere. It's possible to go through the Christmas motions of putting up the tree, baking cookies, and singing Christmas carols. We can check off each of the holiday traditions, yet not feel the joy and warm fuzzy feeling associated with these activities.
There's also the certain "magic" of Christmas that makes this holiday especially unique. The tales of Santa and his reindeer are fun and light a spark of excitement in children's eyes. But it's true; the older we get, the less magical Christmas morning can feel. There's no delight at seeing all the cookies you prepared mysteriously eaten by Santa. The doll house-sized box is replaced by an envelope of cash. Christmas as an adult just isn't the same.
Let me just share something with you... maybe these activities, no matter how lovely and good they are, are not enough to bring us joy each year because they're not supposed to.
Yes, we grow up. The excitement of material things will always fade. Excitement of a glorious and beautiful Savior will never fade.
The coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will always be enough to sustain our joy. He will always be worth celebrating.
So maybe the lack of Christmas spirit is you. Maybe it's the fact that your heart is too worried about ensuring that your Christmas looks like the spectacle it's been turned into. Let us take our eyes off ourselves, and fix our hearts on appreciating the miraculous birth of a loving Savior and the fact that He loved us enough to become like us. Then, the joy of celebrating Immanuel becomes the "Christmas spirit" you've been searching for.
