Thoughts on Holidays

I had a pleasant day yesterday.

Justin had to work so he had helped me with preparations on Wednesday. I was happy to have it all done with so that yesterday I could relax with the kids and not be rushing around like a crazy woman at the last minute. Ok ok - I am pretty much always rushing around like a crazy woman at the last minute these days - no matter what I have done. Because, well, it takes a looooong time to get three kids and one mama all dressed and ready to go in their holiday finery and a butt-load of food out the door on time. That's just the way it is - especially when two of them are sleeping until 20 minutes before you're supposed to leave.

So we sat around and watched the Thanksgiving Day parade. We listened to Christmas music, I put the kids down for naps, cleaned the living room and brought some Christmas decorations out. It was peaceful.

As I was talking to Justin on the phone last night about the day I shared some things with him regarding my thoughts on Thanksgiving - on holidays in general. (please excuse me, this might be a bit rambly) You see, I kind of have an issue with the hyper-spiritualization of holidays. (is that a word?) For lack of a better term. I suppose you could also call it the inflated expectedness of holidays. Or the super-focusedness of holidays. Whatever you call it - I don't care for it. Now, don't get me wrong - I looooove Christmas. I love the season, the decorations, the activities, the family, the food, the merriness, the traditions, the PRESENTS! I am all about the presents. I love it. I think a problem arises though, when we set too high of expectations on specific days.

As I mentioned, Justin had to work yesterday. More than several times, people asked me if he had to work and when I told them 'yes' they would give me this sad face and say something along the lines of "Oh! I'm sorry. That's a bummer." But I didn't really think it was a bummer. I mean, how could I possibly think it's a bummer considering this:

• He has a job
• He has a job which allows him to be home with us 21 days out of the month
• He has a job which pays well enough for us to live comfortably
  
• He has a job which allows us to eat comfortably
• I have a husband who can go to a job
• I have a husband with a job he loves
• Said husband was going to be eating a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with his buddies

You get my point, the list could go on and on. So what is one day? What is one day when I get so many days with him? What is one day when there are so many other blessings? How could I have any ounce of disappointment? And to make it even better, what is one day when we're going to have a perfectly wonderful post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving with our dear neighbor friends on Sunday? It's no big deal. It only becomes a big deal when we misalign our expectations.

I remember one Thanksgiving when I decided I wanted to read a special 'spiritual' Thanksgiving story to my non-Christian family. I was so excited to make Thankgiving 'meaningful' that year. So I started in and went on... and on.... and on.... People were yawning, getting up from the table and all the while I was deflating inside. I was so disappointed. But, I was disappointed because my expectations were too high. It sounds kind of extreme, but if I had had no expectations - I would have been thankful for the one person who stuck around and at least feigned interest in what I was reading.

And it's the same with Christmas. I hear the common phrases thrown around:

Jesus is the reason for the season
Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas

People make decisions to not give gifts because well, after all, Christmas really isn't about the gifts. Or they won't make mention of Santa, even as a Christmas character, because they think it somehow detracts from Jesus. I get all those things - and I don't fault anyone for making these decisions for their own families. But I think sometimes we try to make Christmas into something that, simply, just can't meet our expectations. After all, the Bible never makes mention of celebrating Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter, the way we do today. It is something we thought up ourselves - something, mostly cultural, that we thought up and then sort of tacked God onto. We build these holidays up in our minds and our hearts - we plan to perfection the way we think they should go - and then, we are disappointed when our kids are more excited about the presents than they are about the nativity reading, we are disappointed when nobody is appreciative of our prayers at dinner, we are disappointed when our extended family does not want to join us for church, we are disappointed when our kids misbehave on Christmas day and ruin the mood....

My point in all of this is that, sure, I love holidays as much as the next person and I will celebrate them with all the gusto I can muster. I will bake to my heart's content, I will shop for a Christmas tree, I will drive through neighborhoods adorned with Christmas lights and giant inflatable Santas and snowmen, I will knit into the wee hours of the morning and buy thoughtful gifts for all my loved ones, I will buy special Christmas outfits for my kids, I will attend Christmas mass on Christmas eve with my grandma because that makes her happy, I will drink a little nog with a dash of rum in it, I might even read the nativity story to my kids and they will probably be more excited about the presents.

BUT!

I will celebrate God's gracious gift of Jesus - for my redemption, reconciliation and salvation - the whole year through until I am face to face with Him in glory. I will give thanks every day for the many and generous blessings God has given me. I will look out my window at the morning sunrise and declare to my children the glory of God - as their sovereign creator. I will talk with my children about God's commandments when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. By God's spirit I will show them what it means to love God with all my soul and with all my strength.

So, if Christmas or Thanksgiving don't go off as picturesque as one would hope - if Justin is working, or my uncle lures me into a political debate while passing the stuffing... if Adia has big bloody picked-at scabs on her face in our Christmas pictures or if my turnip gratin doesn't finish baking until everyone is done with the dinner... if some of the activities we do are all about Jesus and some don't have any blatant correlation to Jesus at all.... it's all right. I will enjoy the season for what it is - imperfections and all. And I will not be disappointed because, ultimately, I put my expectations in the One who does not disappoint. Not because of how I celebrate - but because of who He is and because of what He has done.


Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

If you didn't quite get what I was talking about,
here's an example of not setting our expectations too high.

They pulled it off, with just a few hitches,
and everyone got a good little chuckle as the watched my
children experience a microphone for the first time.