"My Grown-Up Christmas Wish"

Christmas 1992 or thereabout. I was probably 5 or so in this picture. My mom used to work at Coastal Carolina Community College and for a time they had a Christmas Festival, if you will, for the families of the employees. My memories are vague of certain aspects on this day, but I do remember a few things.

One being they had Christmas cookies available to decorate. You could put whatever color icing you wanted on them and your choice of sprinkles. Heaven on earth for a a kid! Second was that the basket on the floor beside Santa Claus had candy canes in it and if you wanted one you had to go sit with him and tell him what you wanted for Christmas. As you can see, I took the bait.

Fast forward to present day. Here I am, 32 years old, a mother of three, and if I could give my children anything for Christmas, it is for them to learn one very important lesson that it took me this long to learn. Here it is: Christmas is not about the gifts.

Sure we all say out loud, Christmas is about God sending his son to Earth. Christmas is about memories and spending time with loved ones, but at the same time we spend way more money than we should trying to find that perfect gift that will make their eyes light up when they receive it. Or we rush around trying to do all the things to make sure we don't lose one waking moment to make this Christmas "special". To make this one a Christmas to remember.

Do you know my favorite memories as a kid about Christmas? Christmas Eve. First I would spend Christmas Eve day at my Grandma's house. She would be in the kitchen baking and cooking for her Christmas Eve get together and I would be in the "office room" making labels out of post-it notes for everyone's seat. The seats were plastic chairs that were brought inside and arranged in an oval shape that took up half of her kitchen. I remember taking a wash cloth and wiping them off because they spent most of the year outside under her carport and were only brought in on "special occasions". Then I would spend the rest of my time making my own decorations out of whatever I could find at her house.  The anticipation of seeing those who I only saw a few times a year was so exciting. I could hardly bear it. The party would finally begin, pictures would be taken, and presents opened. Then, we would head over to my Aunt's house and there I would meet with all my cousins in the "playroom" and spend the next hour or so just playing together.

Did you notice I didn't mention anything about toys? I"ll bet if you are like me, your favorite Christmas memories don't involve any toys, they involve people. And it's not because I didn't get any toys, I received more than my fair share of toys as a kid. It's because they are just "a vapor in the wind"; toys are here today and gone tomorrow. So why all the emphasis on gifts?

Sure it's nice to give gifts and to receive them, I mean, it is an act of love. I love to see someone enjoy a gift I've given them. But how much is enough? How much is our focus on finding the perfect gifts that we forget to live in the present and just be? Instead of sitting and watching the Christmas movie on TV with our children, we are searching on our phone for the gift for that person we just don't know what to get. Or instead of joining in on a fun family activity, we are at work trying to get more hours in to make extra money to pay for all the gifts we have to buy.  I'm guilty. I've been so distracted, stressed, worried, that I've turned a moment of joy into a moment of pain. And for what? A gift that someone may or may not like, that they may or may not have, that they may or may not throw in the trash after you leave?

So if I can leave you with anything let it be this: Life is not about the accumulation of stuff. It's not about having the nicest things, it's not about having everything I could every dream of, it's about learning to be content. Loving those around you with all your being and loving Jesus with all your heart.

So this Christmas season, relax, take a deep breath in, spend time with those you love and thank God for the greatest gift of all.

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us") Matthew 1:23

With love,
Tori