Christmas??

"Dawn of Redeeming Grace"

As some of you know, I’m not much of a Christmas person. I don’t do much Christmas music, I don’t wear a Santa hat, and I probably wouldn’t even decorate if I lived alone. Over the years I’ve become a bit of a scrooge. I realized it was all the hype that comes with the season. People getting trampled at the mall, cheesy Christmas movies, 73 different versions of the horrendous song "Last Christmas", and families fighting over whose house they’ll celebrate at and who gets to cook the Christmas ham. Really? Is any of this really worth it?

Don’t get me wrong though. I do love that I get to spend time with family, especially now that we’re starting to spread out. I do love buying or making that perfect gift for someone I care about. But in the end, something feels so…..unsatisfying. I always feel like there should be something more. Maybe if I got that one thing. How come they got more than I did. The selfishness of the season drives me nuts. MY selfishness during the season drives me nuts. I’ve actually stopped asking for things and when someone asks me what I want, I just shrug and say, “Surprise me.” I’m trying to avoid being disappointed, but I always know that in the end I’m human.

I really had to step back and evaluate what this time of year SHOULD mean. After a hard year and having done my grad project on Mary and her expectations, it struck me. It’s about Light coming out of darkness. I don’t have to reiterate that Israel was looking for the Messiah. But think about it. There is so much silence between Malachi and Matthew….so much darkness. The name Mary was actually a common name of the day because of its meaning of “bitterness.” People in that day were bitter at the Romans and their circumstances. It wasn’t a good situation. The people were looking for hope. For Light. Then……BAM! The Light of the world came to earth. The God who created Mary, who created Joseph, who created the hay He laid in, who created the animals who watched Him, who created the angels who herald His birth, who created the people who mocked Him, who created the tree from which the wood of the cross came, and who created me for whom He died....that God became a helpless baby. Being a nanny has helped me see how helpless babies can be. His glory is magnified by His insignificance. But, at my darkest time when I was wallowing in my sin, there was Light. At my darkest times when I’m struggling to hold on God’s promises, there is Light. Looking at this dark world, there is Light. Holding on to this is beautiful. I can’t help but fall more in love with my Savior. He is my Dawn of redeeming grace.

So, I know I can’t change the craziness and cheesiness of Christmas, but I can bask in the Light. I can fall in love with the Light. I can share the Light. The Light out of darkness.