Christmas Time Is Here
Growing up, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving was that our local radio station began playing Christmas songs. It was finally time for wonder and cheer. Parties at school, the Nutcracker, shopping with my mom- I loved December! However, as I got older, I found myself as more of a Scrooge. Once I was in high school, the Christmas spirit was shadowed in stress over finals, feeling excluded from Christmas parties that I wasn’t invited to, watching couples exchange gifts as I was feeling lonely- it felt like I was being forced to celebrate during a time of year that I was anything but joyful.
This year has felt different. I think because of the anxiety and sadness that have been consistent companions since March 2020, I am looking forward to Christmas this year. The joy that I found fake and annoying now feels like a chance to escape from harsher realities that surround us. Christmas feels like something to look forward to, a chance to celebrate.
We, like many others, found joy watching Ted Lasso recently. Something about his positivity, joy, and resilience feels refreshing. A chance to breathe during the stress of work, pandemic, injustice, financial worry, and wedding planning. Christmas feels the same way, instead of the usual chaos that the holidays bring, it feels like the joyful spirit has given me a chance to breathe. My Christmas playlist is lifting my spirits as I get to sing along with my favorite Christmas song again, (Merry Christmas Baby by Otis Redding, for those of you wondering). I seek Christmas lights that put a smile on my face. I crave the Little Debbie Christmas trees. I want a break from the harsh reality of the world, and I want to enjoy the little, happy things.
“Christ is our good thing, our source of joy, hope, and peace. I am ready to celebrate that.”
As I am experiencing this newfound love for Christmas, I am trying to bring that perspective into my relationship with Christ this season. I have leaned on my faith in my times of struggle, lament, and worry. I have doubted and questioned God. I have worried about my future, dwelled in the mistakes of my past, and made myself, at present, a little miserable. This advent, I am going to try to celebrate the joy in my relationship with Christ.
I keep finding myself thinking of the joy that Elizabeth and Mary felt as they waited on the birth of their Messiah, and I am trying to ground myself there. Christ is a promise kept, a chance at salvation, a constant stream of unconditional love. He will lift the humble, call the peacemakers children of God, comfort the mourning, and fill those who crave righteousness. He is our good thing, our source of joy, hope, and peace. I am ready to celebrate that.