Holy Night

This Holiday season has been so different for us. I know that Christmas is pretty much the same every year as far as traditions and gift giving, baking and shopping, decorating and tree getting but I've really had a chance to think about the real reason we celebrate. This is probably because usually this time of year we're making plans for 12+ hour trips and how much time we're going to spend with each family and what we're going to do to what days, stressing to get the rest of our shopping done, etc. It's all kind of stressful and, like I said, this year is different.
We just moved and will be having the very first Christmas by ourselves with our very own little family. This is the first year that Cameron and I get to decide what WE want to do with our children and how WE want Christmas Eve and Morning to go. Don't get me wrong. We loved being with our families and sharing those moments with them but at some point we have to start building our own traditions and memories. So this is the moment.
We've known since the second week of November that we would be alone this holiday so I've been thinking about it for a while, trying to find ways to make it special for all of us. I started thinking about what I wanted to teach my girls about Christmas and how I was going to get them to understand that it's more then presents and candy and Santa. Now, all those things are good and fun and the girls have definitely experienced that part of it. The big question was, "What am I going to teach them?". I can honestly say that I have learned more by trying to answer that question then I had expected.
I always have known that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but I never thought about why. Why is that important? I feel silly writing that because it seems so simple now. We're celebrating his birth because that was the beginning of His incredible life. Because that incredible life lead to that great sacrifice that allows us to overcome death. But more then that, he chose to leave our Father in Heaven, come down and be born as a little child in humble circumstances and endure the cruelty and the unbelief to teach us by His example and to ultimately save us. I can put myself in Mary's shoes. Being told that she's going to bring into the world the Son of God (that I can't relate to) and then doing so, not in a house with a bed and blankets, but in a shelter. Not having a crib, but some hay, to lay her new baby in. I think any new mom or mom-to-be can tell you that this would not be her ideal birthing plan.
Besides all the reasons we have to celebrate this season, there's something else I think we can do. The three Wisemen brought gifts to Christ. Gold, an item back then reserved for kings, Frankincense, an incense used in the temples of those days and Myrrh, something used in embalming, signifying his death. They brought gifts that we meaningful. I've heard from a couple of different people that they are having their children give a gift to Jesus. I think that that's great. I think we all should try and find a gift to give. Something meaningful. There are so many things that we can improve in ourselves, to be more kind, slower to anger, faster to forgive, to think better of others, etc.
My hope is #1 you got through this ginormous entry and #2 that we can slow down this week before Christmas and really get into the spirit. To think about the Christmas Story, read it if you have it available to you(Luke Ch.1). Put yourselves in their shoes, Mary's, Joseph's, the Wisemen's, and Christ's. Share the true spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ.
Since I have had the chance to slow down this year, got my shopping done earlier and had to really think about how I want my family to celebrate such a joyous time of year I've found what Christmas really means, to me anyway. Today, being the last Sunday before Christmas, the lessons at church were all based around the meaning of Christmas and I couldn't hold in the feelings that I felt.
I hope you all have a safe and a VERY Merry Christmas!