I remember when the holiday season officially kicked off with Thanksgiving. Now the malls now are selling Christmas ornaments and playing Christmas Carols on Labor Day which makes me wonder; when did they change the date?
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, the focus is now on shopping and decorating. I know that Christmas is not about the decorations or presents but there have previous holidays when I became so distracted with my ‘to do’ list that I failed to keep my focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Yet, in my defense, it is easy to become distracted when we are simultaneously spoon fed images of driving to grandmother’s house through the pristine white snow while every advertisement tries to sell the idea that we need to dazzle everyone with our own personal presentation of Christmas. This time of year people are inundated with images of the clothes we should wear and the presents we need to give. It can be so exhausting!
As I was creating my holiday ‘to do’ list, I was again feeling the obligation to “dazzle” until I walked out of my office and saw a homeless man sitting on the corner nearby. Since I work in the heart of the city, it is not unusual to see homeless people but this particular homeless man caught my attention because a few years ago, at holiday time, something he did changed my perspective. It was a time when I had set high expectations for myself to dazzle and wasn't taking time to actually enjoy the holiday. One afternoon I took a break to watch a festival held close to where I work. One vendor was handing out free T-shirts and that evening, as I walked to the parking garage, I saw that same homeless man handing out some of those free T-Shirts to other homeless people so they would have an extra layer of clothing to keep themselves warm. It was very cold that day and he only wore a T-shirt over a long sleeve shirt covered by a thin jacket. I could tell he was cold but, instead of creating extra layers for himself, he shared with others who had even less. When I got to my car in the parking garage that evening, I looked across the horizon and saw a cross from a nearby church glowing against the night sky. I was gently reminded that Christmas is not about the dazzle or commitments. Christmas is about love.
This evening, as I arrived at the parking garage, I looked across the horizon at the beautiful sunset and saw that cross rising above the skyline. That cross was lit, glowing against a backdrop of a red sunset, a reminder that Christmas is about the kind of brotherly love which was demonstrated by a homeless man sharing with the less fortunate when he himself had nothing. The holiday season is about Christ, family, friends, and love for our fellow man. I no longer feel the pressure to dazzle which frees me to focus on the true spirit of the holiday.
To be honest, I know I will still try to dazzle, but not out of any sense of obligation to do so. The dazzle in the holiday is now part of the fun while the focus is on the love. I personally think that the Lord showed me these reminders now because, being the wise omnipotent entity that he is, he realized that he should just get ahead of the game this year and remind me to keep my focus on the true meaning of the holiday season before I become too engrossed in the dazzle and commitments. Instead of over committing myself in an attempt to exceed the expectations of the season, I am scheduling only the commitments that matter. In other words, this year it is quality over quantity and the focus is on love.
Merry Christmas.
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