Good, Good Christmas
Christmas is so busy.
Shopping.
Parties.
Baking.
Recitals.
Decorating.
Planning.
The past few years I’ve exited the Christmas season a little dazed that it was all over so quickly, like going on every ride in an amusement park in 30 minutes and then immediately leaving. I guess if you’re into the rush, this hustle-and-bustle is great. And don’t get me wrong, some people thrive that way, and I think that’s a beautiful way to experience life as well, but I felt like the greatness of it all passed by too quickly and I didn’t appreciate the greatest Gift we’ve ever been given.
What’s so great about God is that even with giving us the greatest gift of his son Jesus, he doesn’t stop there. He continues to give because it’s in his nature.
This year I decided to spend more time in stillness with the Gift Giver. With a little bit more planning of my time and finances, I’ve been able to all the Christmas things, but with a peaceful spirit about it rather than the old feelings of hastiness and obligation.
What’s so great about God is that even with giving us the greatest gift of his son Jesus, he doesn’t stop there. He continues to give because it’s in his nature. I believe he gets excited and giddy when we see the gifts he gives us. One of mine this year from him was that I wanted to hear “O Come O Come Emmanuel” live. I’ve fallen in love with this song (I quite literally have 5 different versions of it on my Christmas playlist). This past Sunday I was running late to church, so badly so I almost didn’t go. My mentors encouraged me to meet them there anyways so I showed up to the last-Sunday-before-Christmas service, you know the one where everyone dresses up really nice, yeah I showed up in leggings, a hoodie, no makeup, and (hopefully) freshly brushed teeth thirty minutes late. I’d missed the entire worship set and they were well in the announcements. I stayed in the back for a few minutes to wait for a good time to join my mentors. However, right after they finished announcements, they sang another song during the offering. I immediately noticed it was “O Come O Come Emmanuel” complete with a cello and three singers harmonizing the entire piece. It was beautiful, and in my humble opinion, the best way to hear a song is to add some cello in there. I stopped caring that I was so late and “under-dressed,” and enjoyed this gift from the Father.
Between relationship difficulties, emotional healing, battling feelings of being unchosen, and Mimi passing, the past few months have defined a very difficult valley season. However, I’ve chosen and continue to choose joy, and because of this, I have had one of the best Christmas seasons thus far. There are so many things I love about Christmas, but my favorite is experiencing it all hand-in-hand with Dad.