Maine Seasons: Christmas

The weather outside is frightful, and it looks as if Maine is not going to have a white Christmas after all, despite how wintry it has been for weeks. Pounding rain at 55 degrees has washed all the white away and turned everything to a solid greenish-brown.
But does Christmas have to be white to be beautiful? Absolutely not.

My blue Charlie Brown tree,
when there was still a bit of snow
earlier this week

I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas, and while I can easily list all the things that stress me out about the season,there are many things that make it special.
As a child and an adult, I have always had wonderful Christmases. I had  loving and giving grandparents who spoiled us every year, and a Mom and sister who still goes above and beyond to make Christmas all anyone would want it to be. Christmas was always magical for me as a child. Santa was (IS) real, and I looked forward to Christmas morning with great anticipation. Christmas was not without its problems in my childhood but the mounds of presents, special foods, and time with family outweighed any stress for me as a child, which were few but did exist.

That magic continued when at around age 12 I became a serious follower of Jesus. Suddenly the spirit of Christmas was infused with an incredible spiritual dimension that still overawes me today. It is the truth of Immanuel, God with us. This reality filled me with more wonder and chills than Santa Claus ever could. In today's multicultural age people have far-ranging views on the story of the birth of the Savior, but let me say, without it, Christmas has far little meaning to me today. The commercialism of Christmas blares from October till after Christmas. The giving of Christmas is found in every e-mail, radio announcement, and ad, whether its to buy something to give to a loved one to giving to ASPCA, Salvation Army, Red Cross, or whatever favorite charity you have. Don't get me wrong, giving is important. Self-sacrifice is a truly spiritual act as represented by what Immanuel did give up to become the world's saving sacrifice. But these messages of giving are buy, buy, buy, spend, spend, spend, and at the bottom, what do you have? Money! Without going on a soapbox here, I don't think Christmas should be about how much money I spend to show my love, support, and giving attitude. After a while I get a jaded and depressed being surrounded by the cultural "need" to spend, buy, and give. The bottom line is that it speaks to me of greed--greed of the retailers, greed of ourselves to want more than we need, greedy for recognition of being a good giver. But no soapbox!

Sacrifice is giving when it hurts but not to our pockets and responsibilites. Being responsible givers is more important than going into debt to give or show our love. I'm so glad there are many who agree with this concept and either save up to make Christmas special or make gifts or do other things to share in the spirit of Christmas, and I also love giving to a favorite charity.  Mine is Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief organization with evangelical underpinnings run by Franklin Graham, the son of late Billy Graham. They do good things! My favorite is the shoe boxes!

With a 14-year-old boy, the magical days of Santa Claus and anticipating fun toys under the tree has  passed, although he still hopes for his favorite brands of clothes and video games, and with losing three grandparents and two parents over the course of six years, Christmas is also filled with nostalgic memories, and each year my husband and I find that sadness of missing each of them colors our Christmas, but at the bottom of all the wrapping, lights and warm memories, I return to Jesus. The baby in the manger, the Savior of the world, the God-man on the cross, the carpenter-teacher driving the money changers out of the temple and allowing his feet to be washed and kissed by women of ill repute. This is Christmas. God come down. Come to make the ultimate sacrifice. Come to make a way for all of us to be in right relationship with God. Come to make a way for eternal union with himself. To me, despite what the historians and atheists say, that Christmas came from pagan origins that the church blended into, Christmas--the Christ mass, speaks of true sacrifice, love, and giving. For me when Linus in Charlie Brown Christmas recites the words of Luke 2, it couldn't be any simpler: "'For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.' And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

An artist's rendition of the birth
of Christ on a Christmas card
sent to me by my grandparents
last Christmas.My grandfather passed
away in March of this year,
 and its sat on my mantel all year. 

I don't know what your Christmas looks or feels like, but know this: Jesus came to earth as a baby,  for you and me, to die a criminal's death, to make the required sacrifice to blot out our sins, and make a way for us to have a relationship with God. Its
that profound and that simple.
Merry Christmas and may God bless you richly as you look to Him to fill your heart with joy, hope, peace, and love.

Here are some fabulous things to do or read if you need some real Christmas spirit.
Read:
Luke 2
Matthew 1 and 2
The Red Suit Diaries, about a real life Santa who tells the              heartbreaking and wonder-filled stories of being Santa and also about his work to bring durable equipment to disabled children.
The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel

Watch:
The Nativity Story
With little ones watch The Star (a fabulous and funny retelling of the birth of Christ with animals leading the way but one that doesn't miss the point).

Listen or watch:
Dr. David Jeremiah has been speaking for weeks on the birth of Christ. It is very good.