~ Written by Viki Rife
Did Christmas meet your expectations?
I have to admit, I’ve experienced a lot of disappointing Christmases. The one when I didn’t get a puppy. The ones when we couldn’t scrape enough money together to get what we really wanted to give our kids. The one we spent in the intensive care waiting room while they tried to find a doctor to do emergency heart bypass surgery on my dad. The ones when the kids and grandkids can’t come home, and I get a knot in my stomach when I hear warm and fuzzy carols about family gathering.
This year, as I rehearsed what I wished it had been like, I sensed the Lord say, “Who told you it had to be that way?” And I realized how much of my view of Christmas has been shaped by stories, movies, commercials, and the belief that it’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
What do you think Mary and Joseph would have said their first Christmas was like? They travelled a weary road, with all the discomforts of late pregnancy, to find that there was no place for them to stay. She had to give birth in a stable. The child had to sleep in a manger. Unless their faith was way beyond anything I’ve ever experienced, I’m guessing their hearts were probably weighed down with the daily concerns of making it through life with another mouth to feed.
Have we made Christmas into something it was never meant to be? Deep inside, I’ve been expecting the celebration to satisfy my heart. It’s been good to remind myself, again, that it is not a Christmas celebration, but a relationship with Jesus that truly satisfies.
Released! 