It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas

I know that there are some folks who start planning their Christmas strategies shortly after storing away those plastic Easter eggs. We had a friend years ago who always tried to finish her Christmas shopping by August... I always wondered why. For years there has been a distinct calendar creep for Christmas trappings to show up in stores. Yet, all of this stuff really doesn't help move me toward that special feeling that Christmas is just around the corner.

Yet, here it is only 11 days until Christmas, and I'm feeling that feeling. I didn't notice it creeping up on me. I didn't make a resolution to start feeling it. I didn't even watch It's a Wonderful Life. I just noticed today that the feeling is there.

Maybe it was because I crawled through that small door to the dusty attic to drag out numerous boxes and bags of Christmas decorations, along with dirt and several scraps of pink fiberglass insulation. (Yeah, I realize we're on the really late end of the curve for decorating, but, hey, Scrooge waited until Christmas Eve and did pretty well.) Maybe it was the smell of whatever it was Virginia was baking last night for a church ladies gathering tonight. Maybe it's just knowing that our kids will be here for a few days around Christmas. Maybe it was setting out our artificial-yet-really-quite-realistic Christmas tree and fluffing out the branches. Maybe it's the thought of climbing on a ladder to put up lights. Not sure...

My guess is that all of those things contributed a little to this growing feeling, but that most of those things above are minor players. The thing is that this feeling really started growing when our church started ramping up our annual holiday efforts to help others. Over 20 families had a Thanksgiving dinner because my brothers and sisters at Eastside wanted that to happen. Then there was the planning and participation with several other churches in Mission Christmas, where 700 homeless and underprivileged folks were served... dinner, gifts, bibles, music, crafts, social service assistance... all in the name of Jesus. But I think what really gave this feeling a boost was the rush on the Giving Tree. Ruth puts tags with children's needs on a tree, and folks were standing in line to remove these "ornaments" so they could go purchase gifts or clothes for children not their own. And those who didn't get a tag have forked over cash to make sure these families have something special to eat for Christmas. One of our most energetic retired gentlemen stopped by the office Tuesday morning and handed Ruth a $100 bill, saying simply, "The tags were gone; this is for the kids."

I'm eager to get the decorations up this year, and I can't wait for my kids to arrive... Jennifer, Fok, Kaleb, Jeremy, Amber... holiday trappings and having family near are all part of what makes Christmas special. But the thing that sustains that feeling, the thing that will make a difference after my kids go home and all the decorations are put away is knowing that I'm part of a church family that "gets it"... people who understand something of the significance of a relationship with Jesus and who are allowing Him to make a difference in their lives.

Yes, it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... I pray that you will feel thankful and blessed wherever you are!!