When I was a kid, the only stress the holiday season brought me was deciphering if the noise I heard as I laid in my bed on Christmas Eve was the house shifting as a result of stormy weather, or something more intriguing such as reindeer landing on our house's rooftop. However, as I become older and life becomes more hectic, it seems as though the holiday season becomes busier as well. Rather it be pulling all nighters as finals approach, flying state to state to visit family, or trying to find the perfect present to give to someone, life takes over and makes it easy to forget what the holidays are actually all about.
In a world that is so fast paced and forever changing, it's hard to be able to find time to step back and appreciate those around us and be thankful for the life we have. The holidays are so significant because they provide an opportunity for us to take a break from our everyday responsibilities, something most of us rarely have a chance do to. While most of us acknowledge that this is the season of celebrating others and God, while putting ourselves second, it seems as though society as a whole has changed to overlook this concept. Now, people are more focused on where they need to go to find the newest products for a cheap price than they are on bringing joy to those around us. Yes, buying presents for others is a thoughtful thing to do, but it has become expected. We expect to rush down stairs Christmas morning to see what Santa has left us, and what our family has brought us. We grow up with this idea that the holidays mean presents, when in fact the holidays are here to provide us with time to celebrate Jesus.
It is incredible that we get time off from life to celebrate Jesus coming into the world. Christmas is such a special time because if Jesus wasn't born, we wouldn't have someone to advocate for us when we sin. We wouldn't have someone who willingly took on all the weight of our sins, which lets be honest this is an unimaginable amount of weight to be on someone's shoulders, and die an immensely painful death in our place. The least we can do to repay Him for this is dedicate some time to celebrate his birth, and put the expectation to receive gifts as a result aside. While we should always be showing love to others throughout the year, during this time of year we should be prioritizing loving on other people the way Jesus loves on us. We should be celebrating other people like Jesus celebrates us. And lastly, we should be thanking God for bring Jesus into the world and for saving us.
So this holiday season remember it's okay to be excited to give and receive, but also keep in the mind the real reason the holidays are incredibly special and important.
