“…because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20b, 21
There are so many things left to do and so little time. Shopping, baking, presents to wrap, perfect outfits for all the parties and the menu for Christmas Day. There just isn’t time to get everything done. “Fast away the old year passes” isn’t just a line in a song; it’s what we’re faced with each day as we set our priorities. The true message gets lost in the rush.
I make the commitment every year to be more organized, to begin earlier, not to wait until the last moment to get important things done so that I can relax and enjoy the season with my family. I still can’t say I’ve accomplished that. Most years we have my husband’s family over on Christmas Eve and my own on Christmas Day. That’s almost 40 people through the house, eating, opening gifts and enjoying time together in two days, plus all of the preparation and cleaning up. Though I love doing it, I’m not always singing “fa la la la la.”
One thing which helps me keep my perspective as I iron tablecloths and plan how everything will work is making certain I begin and end each day with God’s word. Throughout the Christmas season I read not only the story of Christ’s birth from Matthew and Luke, but also many of the prophecies from the Old Testament foretelling His coming.
I want to end the old year doing the right thing, making Jesus my priority. As I realize the time to “hail the new” is rapidly approaching, I also want to make certain I begin with the right thing. It’s great to “sing we joyous, all together…heedless of the wind and weather,” but it’s also important to do what God wants me to straight through without losing stride.
We make a nativity scene the center of our decorations and Santa a passing notion. I made the commitment a long time ago that no Christmas card would leave our home without some aspect of the gospel of Jesus going with it, and no one would leave our house without knowing we make Jesus the center of our celebration.
The message of Christmas is that the baby born in Bethlehem
Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston-Holtman & 2MefromHim Ministries, 2011. All rights reserved. Do not use without permission of author.
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