So, if your family is like mine, everyone else is sort of pushing it right now. You, of course are the cool one, the one who has it all under control, or at the very least, is not stressing. Right? Sure.So what if it's December already? So what if you haven't got your cards all made out and addressed and ready to be mailed? And your gift list? Who cares if there Ain' no such animal? No matter how ready you are, or not, Christmas will come, and then go, no matter what you do. It won't be any more enjoyable, or any less, if you have not worried yourself into an ulcer the size of an oyster by December 25! It's like this. I have my cards, sitting right there, ready to be attended to,and when I have the time, I will do them. I have a vague idea what we will be having for Dinner on Christmas day, and also a vague notion what I want to give the kids for Christmas. But none of it is set in stone. Simply because when I have gone all out in the past to try to bring things all together for the Holiday, something happens to my plans,and something happens to me. The more I try to bring about a perfect Christmas, the worse my mood gets,and the more likely that I will turn into Ralph-Rotten, snapping at my loved ones who seem to be working to bring me down. I don't like that side of me, so I do all I can to avoid seeing that person. So, I let others do the planning and decorating. They will do it, or they won't...it's just as simple as that. When it comes to gifts, the best gift I can give is my love, and I am just not very loving when I am worried about getting things done that I cannot do. So, I sit back, relax and let my family shine. The less they see me accomplishing for the up-coming holiday, the more they seem to dig in and hurry around and get it done themselves. Now that is a feather in their caps,and they feel a real sense of achievement when I can say, so and so did this and so and so did that! Isn't that wonderful? They know I shall be giving them something for the gift exchange, and they also know that we shall be eating something on Christmas eve and Christmas day,so they don't worry about it. Otherwise there are fights and quarrels and hurt feelings flying back and forth, and that's just not what brings about a Merry Christmas for the family, is it?
But, I said all of that to say this. When Holidays roll around,the more demands everyone has on their plates, the more they are going to be testy with one another. Family especially seems to have the hardest time actually getting into the Christmas spirit, because they get caught up in all the commercial trappings of the season, and allow the advertisements to convince them that if it isn't big, expensive and impressive, that it isn't enough. Some ads even go so far as to suggest that the fine jewelry and other gifts they have to sell are the reason for the season. That is when you have to haul them back,and remind them that this simply is not so. The reason for the season, and the Holiday itself, is because of the awesome gift God gave us, when he gave us his only begotten son to be born as a man, Immanuel, "God with us"...creating "peace on earth" (for the thirty-three and a half years Jesus walked the earth, there were no wars),and caused him to give up his life for the remission of our sins. And while he was here, heaven and earth were filled with his glory! That is the gift, not diamond earrings. Not silver cars with big red bows on them. And nothing you can put in a box or bag and wrap up in pretty paper can even begin to equal that.
So calm down,and relax. Enjoy your loved ones and the time you have together, and stop stressing over all those things the world is trying to convince you that you should do. Give, out of your love. Give your love.
And,above all, have a Merry Christmas Everyone!
OUI?
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