Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
– Colossians 3:15
In a holiday season careening out of control, I long for the Deliverer whose arrival we celebrate.
It happens every year.
I begin the holidays with a fresh thrill of expectation as we haul out the Christmas decorations shortly after Thanksgiving. Every year I start a bit earlier, try harder, and still fall short of completing everything on my to-do list.
The list hasn’t gotten longer. Other responsibilities in my life have grown.
I start with good intentions. But as the month spins increasingly out of control, my energy begins to wane along with my Christmas spirit as I strain to capture all that glitters in the magical world dangling just out of reach.
That world doesn’t exist, not in this life. At times it even taunts me and magnifies the year’s sorrows. Our lives pale beside the delusion. The contradiction cuts as I dash through the last bell-ringing days of a tired year.
When I reach that moment of total frazzled-hair, wild-eyed insanity; when I don’t have time for a walk through the mall with my husband, for a run to Starbucks to meet friends for coffee, or to sit with the cat in my lap and enjoy the Christmas tree, I need a time-out.
At that moment, it’s crucial to put the recipes away, close my eyes to the mud on the kitchen rugs, and sling out a net to gather in my mood swings.
Because I love Christmas. I love celebrating the day my Deliverer came for me. It’s the real miracle breathing life into the season, salvation appearing out of the sky to a world dying to live.
What better reason could there be to celebrate? What tinsel-town light show can compete with such glory?
Jesus presents to us the ultimate good-versus-evil story. He’s the Prince on a white horse who comes just time to save His beloved. He has written the beginning and ending to every life’s drama, and He is the only real reason life is worth living.
His coming split history in half and lit up the skies with angelic alleluias. His death and resurrection made our every loss bearable, our every breath a gift, and our future secure.
Because He came, every day is Christmas. That deserves a serious celebration. Forget the mincemeat pie. The Christmas cards can wait.
Rejoice.
