Last year I asked my adult children what were the things they remembered most about their Christmases growing up. It was little things: getting to open a gift Christmas eve, watching Christmas movies as a family and making and eating incredibly unhealthy, but oh so yummy cinnamon marshmallow rolls every Christmas morning. Two of these were things I had done as a child and had continued to do with my children. What they didn’t talk about was how the house was decorated both in and out, the big family dinners and the perfect family moments I tried to create that sometimes caused more stress than holiday cheer. Too often we forget the heart of Christmas is about Jesus: the day God came to earth in the form of a baby so that we might be saved. It is a day of hope, a day of promise and a day to be shared with the ones you love the most.
Every year you create Christmas memories with your family. You can choose the traditions both you and your family will remember with fondness. When the season starts to get crazy, stop and ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Just because you have always done something, or you feel you have to do it, doesn’t mean you do. Give yourself permission to choose a few simple traditions that mean the most and only do those things. This is a lesson I am still learning.
So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:16-19
Just as Mary was able to treasure the simplicity of that first Christmas, I pray the choices you make this Christmas will become your family’s treasured memories.
Dog Walks With God 