The Peace in Preparation!

In the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3

The time for our preparation for Christmas this year is shorter, and it has really had an impact on the usual routine for the way I like to prepare. Instead of being able to enjoy the process, it has become a bit of an obsession. The stress of preparation has taken away much of my peace, and to top it all off, some of my favorite pieces are either lost or misplaced. All I can think about is where did I put them? Are they lost forever?

It made me think of one of our favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story. In the movie, Ralphie is obsessed with getting a Red Ryder BB gun from Santa. His imagination takes him to all the ways he could use it, from shooting bad guys and rescuing his family to other heroic acts. His mother bursts his bubble when she says, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”, but the gun is all Ralphie can think about.

Preparation is all I’ve dwelled on lately, but I think God has taught me a valuable lesson. The other day as I stressed over decorating, I had hurriedly placed my nativity sets in different places, but one of them I just put down without any order thinking I would get to it. When I walked by it, the message was clear. Joseph had his back turned to Mary and Jesus, Baby Jesus was turned upside down, and Mary was on her knees looking away from everything! Even the angel looked preplexed! Preparation without peace was robbing me of the joy of the season. I’ve been thinking about the wrong things, and I’ve learned that it takes more than a tree and decorations to find the peace and joy of Christmas.

What should we think about when we think of Christmas? Of course we all think of Christmas trees and beautiful decorations and there’s nothing wrong with that. We think of what we can give our family and friends, and that’s good too. We even think of what we want for Christmas, but the problem comes when we dwell more on the materialistic things of Christmas rather than the Christ of Christmas.

The Christ of Christmas would have us tell others that the baby born in Bethlehem came to change our lives. He came to give us peace with God and peace with one another. He came to give us purpose in life and hope after death. Our job is to help others see past the materialistic world and lead them to the Light of the World. We have to show others the peace in preparation for his coming rather than the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.

The story is told of two ten year old girls who were walking in the snow one day discussing what each was getting for Christmas. They stopped to talk to an old man named Harry who was on his knees in the snow weeding around a large oak tree. Harry’s jacket was frayed and his fingers were blue from digging in the snow. He told the girls that his mother was all he had in this world, and because she loved the trees and her yard so much, he cleans the yard as his gift to her. The girls were so touched that they began to help Harry, and the three of them spent the rest of the day weeding. When they finished, Harry pressed a quarter into each of their hands with the words, “I wish I could pay you more, but this is all I have right now.”

The girls remembered that they had passed this house before. It was the shabby one with no wreath, no Christmas tree or other decorations just the figure of Harry sitting by the window. The next day, the girls talked and agreed to put their quarters into a jar marked “Harry’s Christmas Present.” They sought out odd jobs in the neighborhood, and every nickel, dime, and quarter went into that jar.

Two days before Christmas, the girls had enough to buy Harry a pair of gloves and a Christmas card. On Christmas Eve, the girls went to Harry’s door and began to sing Christmas carols. When he opened the door, they presented him with the gloves wrapped in pretty paper, the card, and a pumpkin pie straight from the oven. Harry tore open the gift, and to their astonishment, he held the gloves to his eyes as he cried.

This Christmas we can just survive the season, gripe and complain about the inconveniences of it, yawn when we hear the Christmas story, and be glad when it’s over, or we can prepare for Christmas just like these girls. Peace this Christmas comes not in the material things like the pieces which I found lost or misplaced and let that control my emotions, but rather by rediscovering the blessings of Christmas in those all around us.

My prayer is that we can all celebrate the peace that comes in the preparation for the birth of our Savior.