Christmas Countdown 2022
Well here we are…counting down the 25 days to Christmas. I sit here shaking my head and wondering where the year went, yet again.
After we got the tree up and decorated, I was highly motivated to begin attacking the multiple green tubs in the basement but somewhere between locating the Advent Wreath on Saturday night and putting together a couple of new displays (is that what you call them?), I lost steam.
Those storage containers hold a myriad of memories and being a solid Four on the enneagram chart, I feel every one.
Every. Single. One.
It can be emotionally exhausting.
Yesterday as the sun was starting to sink, I asked Russ if there is any point to me even doing it. I remember when his mom got tired and quit putting up a real tree. She was content with a ceramic one with little lights.
My own mom, in years when her inner struggles got the better of her, would say she just didn’t feel like decorating for Christmas. I would rally strong and take over because I couldn’t understand how you wouldn’t want to decorate for Christmas.
But life happens and the older I get, the more deep questions I ask about why we do it.
Why do we put a life-size tree up in our house?
Why do we drag out figurines of Santa, snowmen and the Nativity and try to find spaces for them on our already crowded shelves?
Why do I empty out all our every day coffee mugs and replace them with Christmas ones…oh never mind. I know why.
Cause it’s fun.
Because it connects us over the years to Christmases from our childhood to raising our own children to now watching our grandchildren look for Bob the Elf.
Because whatever the year looked like, sprinkling our homes with fanciful delights brings a warm reminder that family and friends and celebrations are good and ordained by God.
I read a post this morning on Instagram that was a kudos shout-out to the “magic makers.” To those of us who make the effort to turn December into something special for our loved ones.
Yes, Jesus is the Reason for the Season – no doubt.
But the holidays are rich with our stories from the past and the ones we are writing today.
So for the next 24 days, I want to share some stories from the Journey so far for me.
I hope that they evoke in you some memories that make you smile, laugh, maybe cry…who knows. But most of all in sharing, my prayer is that you just enjoy some Christmas stories from my heart to yours.
Think of it as a storybook we open each day.
Take it with a light heart and an open mind that maybe God wants to delight YOU this Christmas with not only the celebration of the birth of Christ, but all the traditions and twinkling lights that make the world a little brighter and kinder as the year rolls to an end.
Go pick out a Christmas mug for tomorrow and meet me back here as we Count Down to Christmas 2022 together <3