Not So Merry

My family is notorious for envisioning Norman Rockwell Christmases and getting anything but. As I child, Christmas really was perfect for me. However, now that I'm out of that stage, I realize how much work my family puts into keep Christmas the way it always has been. Conforming to society's psychology places an entire set of stereotypes for this season. From trees to family traditions to last-minute shopping traffic, our schema for Christmas is a stiff one. If we stray from that schema, we feel that we have failed ourselves and those we love by not providing the right Christmas.

But what if, by some cosmic alteration beyond your control, your Christmas isn't like that? What if your grandmother is in the hospital and the entire family focuses on the ICU room instead of a Christmas dinner? What if you've just had a disagreement with the people you love most and you realize there is no way you can please them? What if the husband and father of four is suddenly and inexplicably killed in a car accident? What if you are a widow in a nursing home with no remaining family? What if it simply was a bad day where nothing seemed to go as hoped?

To all of you who feel this way, I'm doing the best I can within my heart to hug you right now. I don't want to paste a smile on top of your frown. I just want to sit beside you in silence so we'll both know we aren't alone. Maybe Christmas hasn't been the "most wonderful time of the year". Maybe you don't feel "holly jolly". Maybe you won't even be "home for Christmas." Even if this season isn't what it's always been or what you've always wanted it to be, that doesn't mean you've failed or done anything wrong. You're just breaking the mold.

Look how far we've come from what we consider the first Christmas. A couple thousand years ago, Christmas didn't have a name. It didn't have assigned colors like red and green. It didn't have symbols like candy canes, wreaths, trees, nativities, or crosses. Very few people really paid the first Noel any attention. And what strikes me the most is that it involved a difficult journey, a woman in labor, and a struggling new father. It doesn't sound very merry... all except for a Savior entering a crazy world that needed Him desperately. Only He was glorious. So cling to the Savior if your Christmas is perfect, and especially if He's all you have. Whatever the case, though I can't really be there with you, that Savior already is... and not just because it's Christmas. He's with you constantly because he wants to be. Despite that schema, He came because He wanted to be with us and rescue us. That's what Christmas really is.