Advent

I've been thinking a lot about the Christmas season lately so let me use this excuse to process out loud. I've been reminded just how commercial Christmas time can be. Not that I don't like Christmas time - it's one of my favorite times of the year but I seem to go back and forth on the whole "how to celebrate the season" idea. On one hand, I like giving and receiving presents. It's a chance to give people gifts to show you care and I honestly don't like the guilt trips some people put out there of how we spend too much money - it's not like we spend money on ourselves. 

Then I remember how easily the "true meaning" of Christmas gets lost in the holiday cheer. I put that in quotes not to diminish the meaning of Christmas but to say that Christ wasn't born in December (a part of me likes to keep thinking I share a birthday month with Jesus). It's more likely he was born in March... and ignoring all the reasons why the holiday season was joined to celebrate Christ's birth - I kind of want to separate it. I like celebrating the Christmas time but I want Christ's birth to be separate - to give it more focus. Then of course I think against this idea because if I can't put aside my own distractions of the holidays to celebrate Christ's birth then who is to say I could do it in March or April or whenever. 

I feel as if I have gone in one giant circle of thought - and perhaps because most of this was bothering me at 1 am in the morning and it is very hard to keep thoughts linear past midnight. I guess in the end Christmas will remain a joint celebration of Christ and ourselves and sometimes we can do both and sometimes we place priority on just one. So for now I leave you with this verse from Isaiah foretelling Christ's arrival in a dark world... because that is the reason he came down to save us - not just from the darkness of eternal hell but from the darkness we were already living in on earth. 

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from the time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." - Isaiah 9:2, 6-7