Ah, the great and wonderful story of Christmas, a good way to start a good day. But Christmas can also be a time of great stress and tension. Did I cook enough to feed all the guests? Will he like the present I got him? Will she know who that present is from, or does she even know that I exist? Did I ruin that pie? How come the neighbor's decorations look so much better than mine? Did I remember everyone on my list? Why didn't I make a Christmas list? We can pile on a lot of stress over the holidays. All the questions about eating too much usually come after, but the stress that causes the eating too much may pile up beforehand. The great thing about the Christmas story in the Bible is that none of that stress is present.
Almost all of what we stress over at Christmas time came after, as in many years after the story of God's great gift to us. Decorations, gifts, boughs, tinsel, parties, cooking, lists, shopping, and so on have nothing to do with the original Christmas. We can enjoy all that we have added on to Christmas, but perhaps if it causes too much stress we should let some of it go. Of course, most and perhaps all of the stress is worth it when the celebration arrives. Putting in the effort before can make the celebration that much better. Certainly we are reminded of what Mary and Joseph faced in the 70-mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Mary far along with her first child. Yet, whatever stress they faced, God went with them, and all was made worth the cost when the Christ child arrived.
Have a merry Christmas!Bucky
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