How Do You Celebrate?

          This past week our students started a continued in their series in conjunction with the season of Advent entitled, Advent Conspiracy.  Here is a snapshot of this series, “We all want our Christmas to be a lot of things. Full of joy. Memories. Happiness. Above all, we want it to be about Jesus. What we don't want is stress. Or debt. Or feeling like we "missed the moment". Advent Conspiracy is a movement designed to help us all slow down and experience a Christmas worth remembering. But doing this means doing things a little differently. A little creatively.  It means turning Christmas upside down.”

Each week includes a discussion question/point that our parents and their students are encouraged to wrestle through together.  The second week’s discussion questions read as follows, “Most of us have struggled at one point with how best to celebrate Christmas.  For some Christians, things have gotten so out of hand that they no longer give gifts to anyone.  What are some of the ways that you have chosen to celebrate Christmas? 

                Celebrating Christmas is something that I have always had an internal struggle with.  Selfishly, I have enjoyed getting presents from a variety of people in my life.  There has always been something about the feeling of opening a present, the surprise of what it could be, and the joy of knowing that it is mine for as long as I want it.  Sounds a little sad, doesn’t it, but I think that if many of us were honest this is where we find ourselves every Christmas.  Personally, I think that this type of mentality is shaped by the consumerism of our culture which leads us to believe that if we have the latest/greatest thing we will be “happy.”  However, as we find this is often not the case and our desire to be left “happy” only leaves us feeling “empty.”

            However, over the past few years, my understanding of Christmas has changed drastically.  While I still enjoy getting presents, there has been a great deal of joy in giving presents through the lives of my children.  I enjoy seeing them, and my wife, light up on Christmas morning because of a special present that they have received and the joy that fills my heart is unexplainable.  There have also been times that we have been able to bless others through our generosity, which has helped change the way that we, as a family, celebrate Christmas.  The old saying, “giving is better than receiving” is starting to ring more true in my life each year. 

            One occurrence of this has become apparent through the life of my wife’s grandmother.  Nanny has always been someone who sought to bring joy to the lives of others through her generosity and loving spirit.  She would bless our family each year with special ornaments that included a handwritten blessing on them for something that she would pray for during the upcoming year.  This along with her personal stewardship of the gifts that God has blessed her with deeply touched my heart.  During the past couple of years, Nanny has been placed into an assisted living facility due to her ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia.  My mother-in-law decided that she wanted the legacy of her mother to live on, so she created a project that each of our families are to carry out every Christmas season.  Each family receives a certain dollar amount that they are asked to use to serve other people in need this Christmas season.  There are no parameters on what can be/should be accomplished, other than to spend the money in a creative manner, as a family, and to help others in need.  These projects have always been interesting as we seek to involve our children in the planning, purchasing, and giving of these projects.  This year, we chose to take the gift and “adopt” a foster child, who would not have a Christmas without the sponsorship of someone.  We talked about this project with our children, took them to the store to shop for gifts for this little boy (which was a small challenge considering our son is the same age and has several of the same interests), and wrapped the gifts for this special little boy to open on Christmas morning.  As I mentioned, this is a challenge to involve a two and four year old in the project sometimes, but the teaching moments that have come from this are wonderful. 

            This is simply one way that we have chosen to celebrate Christmas each year.  I am thankful for my wife’s family, their giving spirit, and their desire to carry on the legacy of a wonderful woman for many years to come.  So as you reflect upon, your Christmas season this year, what are some ways that you are seeking to celebrate Christmas?  What are some steps that you can take to work together as a family to share the blessings that God has given to you?  May you find a new or special way to celebrate Christmas this year as a family!