True Holiday Joy

True Holiday Joy

While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Luke 2:6-7

A few years ago, the arrival of Christmas store displays would signal a marathon tizzy of baking, gift buying, and decorating as I tried to match the images created in the best-holiday-issue-ever women’s magazines.

Determined to recreate scenes from “Christmas in Every Room” articles, I fussed over making felt animals, clothespin angels, and gingerbread villages and wondered why my children didn’t appreciate the magic I had slaved to create.

I finally had the holiday down to a science, but I met my own imperfection and inadequacies at every turn because my home never looked like the ones in the magazines. The sad truth is, in all that baking and buying, I’d lost sight of the first Christmas, in which the world’s Savior had arrived as a helpless baby.

As I began to deal with my frustration through honest reflection and prayer, I realized I had been trying to match scenes brainstormed each July by a staff of twelve. Once I let go of the commercialism and concentrated on the reason behind the celebration, I gained freedom from the frenzy, and so did my family.

Now, I’m not suggesting we get rid of every aspect of the season—just those things that make us dread its approach every year, whether it’s overspending or baking traditional cookies the adults don’t need and the children don’t like. Not sure where to start? Ask the youngsters for suggestions. They have wonderful imaginations and will love being invited to think of new ways to celebrate our Savior’s birthday. Some families visit nursing homes and allow the children to give out hand-painted pictures to those who are alone that day.

Other friends make a birthday cake for Jesus, allowing the children to decorate it. Jan says their cake, with the lopsided writing and hodgepodge frosting colors, will never win decorating awards, but it’s the hit of Christmas dinner, especially when everyone sings “Happy birthday, dear Jesus.”

No matter what your family chooses to do, make sure it adds to the joy of this joyful season. —SANDRA

Lord, help me to look beyond the frenzy of today’s celebration to the joy of your long-ago birth. Help me to embrace what it meant for you to arrive in human form to save us . . . to save me.

Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts: the gift of God to man—his Son; and the gift of man to God—when we first give ourselves to God.

—VANCE HAVNER (1901–1986), PREACHER, EVANGELIST, AND CONFERENCE SPEAKER