simplify

No matter when decorations go up or the carols begin playing on the radio, Christmas has always meant a magnificent amount of work.  The decorations on the house, at the church, at school; the practices, pageants, and performances; throw in visits to various family members; and I’m tired just thinking about it!  Then when you finally get a minute to just sit down and take a little in, Poof! -it is January 2nd, and time to pack it all in.  Its as if we get a thrill from amping up our activity!  And then, there's the whole gift-giving thing.  Some kids have been utterly ruined on a day that is  supposed to celebrate Redemption and Newness.  Many go needlessly into debt trying to overwhelm their loved ones with the amount of gifts every Christmas, and they miss the point of celebrating the Holidays entirely.  It is so easy for the expectation and wonder of receiving a gift to be stolen by selfish demand; and for the joy and elation of giving to be eroded by anxiety and needless debt.  If you have found yourself in like circumstances, then it is time to simplify.

 

A young novelist surveyed his life in mid-19th century London, and found himself in like circumstances.  Living in a place where there were great numbers of people in extreme poverty who were basically the serfs of a few who were very rich, he became depressed about the upcoming Christmas Season.  Being in debt, he thought he would write a book about the true meaning of Christmas in hopes of making enough money to pay off his debts.  But in the process of writing the story, he found that the more he wrote, the more he cried, and the more he found himself broken about the plight of people all around him.  So he made a decision after finishing the story to go deeper into debt, so that the book could be sold cheap enough for every household to afford a copy.  The story, A Christmas Carol,  won Charles Dickens notoriety, which helped to sell his novels, which eventually eradicated his debt.

 

The Holiday Season really is a simple time, and can be celebrated in simple ways.  There does not have to be so much scrambling, spending, and pretense.  Simplify.  It is about humanity’s need of something it would never be able to provide or even afford itself.  It is about the Wonderful Benefactor, Who gave a gift for the mere joy of it.  Giving and receiving is about relationship, communion, and purpose. 

 

So, BE with the ones you love and the ones who love you.  Give for the mere joy of watching in amazement.  Receive like you have never been given a gift before.  Stop the needless scurrying and noise.  Find the miracle of this Season in the unexpected places.  And above all remember that WE were hungry, thirsty, estranged, ragged, sick, and imprisoned.  But God loved us by fixing all that and making the Christ a bridge to finding relationship, communion, and purpose in Him, alone.  He has touched the least in every one of us, so that we can touch the least of these, helping everyone to find our place in His Kingdom.  He has a plan for each and every life, beginning with loving each other.  His presence is found when we practice what He has done for each one of us; that is, helping the poor, loving the hard-to-like, and being a friend to those who have no one.  Scrooge, the main character in A Christmas Carol, found the Miracle of the Season in the most unlikely of places, in the heart of an obscure little boy with crutches named Tiny Tim, who seemed to have this special kind of relationship, and who was always filled with gratitude: “God bless us, everyone!”  Indeed!