The Center of the Season

I for the most part have all my Christmas shopping finished up a week or two before the big day, but this year for some reason I didn't get to the shopping until this last Saturday. So there I am as with the other late shoppers scrambling from store to store, because Christmas is only 5 days away. Stress sets in. What do I get for everyone? Will the money hold out? And I begin to wonder why do we do this every year? And I was not enjoying myself.

Christmas just isn't what it use to be. Every year seems to bring on more stress. What do I buy for everyone this year, when I can't even remember what I bought last year. I know there are so many out there along with me who believe we have forgotten what the real meaning of Christmas is. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas as much as my Grandchildren, but it just seems that we have forgotten that Christ should be at the center of the season.

The children in our church Sunday put on a Christmas program. They did their reenactment of the birth of Christ. I was so touched and at the same time so ashamed that I realized at that moment I did not have Christ at the center of the season. I began to think of the gifts Christ had given me, these do not lose there value nor wear out to be thrown out. And it is the gifts that money can't buy that mean the most. I have been given the gift of another Christmas season with my family, which means more to me than anything. And if I could ask for anything more it would be to let me have more Christmases with them. And for all of us to place Christ at the center of all our seasons and hearts.