It’s that time of year again when the stockings are full, our tummies are even fuller, the turkey is in the oven, people are walking to church, the presents are under the tree, the lights are on, so much is happening. It’s another year gone and another Christmas come! I love this time of the year, when we can gather with different friends and family, when we can travel, when we can eat chocolate before lunch and not feel bad, when there is so much laughter, games are played, crackers are pulled, jokes are made, this is a time when so many happy things happen-what a wonderful time of the year. What a wonderful time to be happy, what a wonderful time to be thankful, what a wonderful time to spend with family, what a wonderful time to know what Christmas is all about.
So many things happen in the lead up to Christmas that we are so focused on getting everything ready, having the guest round, making sure everything is clean, not forgetting anyone of the present list that it is so tiring. I wonder how many of you take a couple of days off after just sleep! Sleep is the best medicine between Christmas and new year, a time when you can rewind and reflect on the craziness of the past few days. It is so much fun but so tiring and draining! I love sleeping anyway but these few days in between I seem to do nothing but eat and sleep and repeat! I may go and see some far distant relatives but there and back I sleep. I can find it socially exhausting but enjoy meeting up with everyone.
Even now as an adult I look forward to Christmas and the look on the children’s faces as they open their presents, I love opening the doors to carol singers, I love hearing the children in plays, I love spending time with family, I love reading the lame jokes, I love seeing the older people smile at the younger ones, I love the lights, I love the laughter and so much more. However when it is all finished I am shattered and I want to sleep and get ‘me’ time back again. Almost every Christmas I will sleep in for the days after and look at the pile of presents in the corner of the room and think that I am so blessed. I am so blessed with all the people that love me, I am so blessed to have family around me, I am so blessed to have a wonderful fiance, I am so blessed that I get on well with my in-laws, I am so blessed I still have my parents around, I am so blessed to have a church family, I am so blessed to know Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour.
BUT… With the busyness of the festive season and all that happens I seem to forget what it is all about, I forget that Christmas has been celebrated for so many years, I forget that songs point to something meaning full, I forget that there are presents for a reason, I seem to forget that Jesus is the reason for the festive season. He is the reason we have presents-He is God’s present to the world. He is the reason that we sing songs-we praise his name. He is the reason we meet in family-He is our best family that we will have. He is the reason for this festive season. God let Jesus come down from Heaven so that He was later to die for us and our imperfectness so that when we trust in Him we can be perfect in God sight. We need Jesus in our lives to make it better, we need to Jesus to help us know what is right and wrong, we need Jesus to trust, we need Jesus to realise that we are sinful and we need a saviour.
As we have this Christmas let us think about the reason for this season, why we celebrate it, whether you feel that Jesus is Gods gift to you, how you feel about the king of the world being born in such an humble way. What an amazing gift this Christmas that God loves you and He sent His son for you! Jesus was born on Christmas day for you and me, will you accept the most important gift that you could be given this festive season?
My Life in Blogs 