I Don't (Dis)like Christmas

      I can't believe Christmas is around the corner!   No seriously, I walked around the corner and the thing called Christmas jumped out and scared me.  And though it's true, I don't really like holidays, I do have a soft spot for Christmas shopping.  It's kind of like solving a mystery, except instead of getting paid to solve it, it's the exact opposite.  But getting someone the perfect present and seeing their face light up is payment enough.  

For those who don't know, here were my feelings on Christmas last year.  I feel like I'm not as cynical as last year, though I still despise certain holiday tunes.  This year I actually figured out that I do like certain Christmas hymns.  I was learning to play O Come O Come Emmanuel on the piano for church and I really saw the words for the first time.  Beautiful music ringing with the gospel, and the truth about Christ's birth.  And yes, I realize Jesus probably wasn't born in December, but hey, we need to celebrate it some time so December 25th is as good time as any I suppose.

I'm just so glad Jesus came.  And not just as a spirit, but actually clothed in flesh, fully human.  He sweated, cried, and bled just like me and just like you.  This is seriously a big deal.  He could have made it so much easier, so much cleaner, so much less painful, but He didn't.  He was born and endured all the pain we all bear, tempted as we are all tempted, and yet lived a perfect life.

He was born to die.  He was born to be killed in place of us.  If you don't think that's hardcore love, then I know what else is hard.....your head.

True, I still don't like Christmas music on the radio, or the mass consumerism, or the parties, but for some reason those things don't irk me the way they used to.  Let the shallow music play, let the greedy masses swarm, let relatives go on and on about how much they missed you. It doesn't really matter.  Just be happy you can put a tree in your house for the only appropriate time during the year.  Be happy you can put "bake cookies" on your to do list and actually consider it a real thing to do.

Just be happy Jesus came.

O come Thou Day-Spring come and cheer
Our spirits by thine Advent here
And drive away the shades of night 
And pierce the clouds and bring us light  

It is my sincere hope that is true for you this Christmas.  I pray the shades and clouds of night would be driven away for a bit and your spirits cheered this Advent.

Merry Christmas to all my readers!