Have we done enough?

Merry Christmas! We hope that all of you are enjoying this Christmas season. We really enjoy the Christmas season at our house and the traditions that go along with it! Ezra was begging for Christmas lights to be put up way before Thanksgiving even. We love making buckeyes, icing sugar cookies, making graham cracker gingerbread houses, cutting out paper snowflakes for our windows, the whispers and secrets of gift-giving preparation, singing (and sometimes butchering) Christmas carols, and just having some good ol’ family time together.

But between the shopping and gift wrapping Dustin and I really try to instill in our kids the true meaning of Christmas. Our church starts December with a Breakfast in Bethlehem where the whole gym is transformed into the marketplace of Bethlehem at the time of Christ. There is a live nativity scene with real animals (that even poop to add to the little ones’ excitement) and there are different booths or shops in the marketplace with hands-on activities for the kids so that they can easier imagine what life may have been like then. Another fun activity was going on the Journey to Bethlehem that is put on by a large church in our area each year. They put you in family groups and you trek through their property on a journey to “Bethlehem”. There are actors along the way to pull you into the scenes as you pass along on your journey, which of course ends at a little stable in Bethlehem where you get to meet a special family with a brand new baby boy. They do a fabulous job and it is enjoyed by all—well, except for those mean Roman soldiers that Ezra could for SURE do without. J Our boys are busy practicing their songs and lines for the upcoming Christmas musical (The Best Christmas Present Ever) this Sunday at our church. We are so looking forward to it, and again, it is a way to focus on the true Christmas. We also have one of those red and green paper chains hanging from our chandelier over our table. Each strip of paper has one verse of the Christmas story on it and down to the littlest, who can’t really even read, we take turns reading those verses as we count down to Christmas day. Then comes our celebration of Jesus on Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story from the Bible (and have even acted it out before) and on our breakfast table sets a huge stack of pancakes which gets candles plopped into it. Next, you guessed it, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. These traditions are actually among the boys’ favorites.

So, all of that plus the squeezing Jesus into conversations and asking thought provoking questions…surely we’re getting the message through? One would hope so! But why then do I constantly hear about wanting more and asking for more gifts and see the obsession with the gifts that they look forward to? Are we not doing enough? No, we aren’t. We never can. And THAT’S the true meaning of Christmas. The amazing gift of grace that God chose to give us -- Jesus’ love for us! He was willing to be separated from his Heavenly Father and be restricted by human form for many years so that he could love us through HIS sacrifice on the cross. Why? Because we could never do enough and the thought of us being separated from him forever made him sad. He wants us to choose to be with him and it’s just so simple. We just have to do what we love so very much….receive a gift!

RLB