Christmas Happens

Comforting thoughts about Christmas when times are tough.

Ready or not, Christmas comes once a year, every year, on the 25th of December. It can’t be stopped. And nobody causes it or makes it happen. Christmas happens all by itself. It is a gift from God.

A gift from God? Really!

From Thanksgiving to Christmas I’m pretty busy getting ready. I hardly have time for God. I do go to church, but I certainly don’t have time to think about Christmas as God’s gift to me.

It’s pretty much my job to make everyone’s Christmas a happy one. And it’s pretty much my job to make this Christmas bigger and better than last year.

So, I bake. I shop. I listen to carols and watch TV specials. I send cards. I help the needy. Oh, if only it would snow! I travel to be with family, cook, eat and exchange gifts.

Will this be the best Christmas ever? I certainly hope so. I’m sure working hard at it. But what if it isn’t the best? What then? Will it even be Christmas at all? Everyone will be disappointed. No one will like me.

Here’s the really big question, “Does every Christmas have to be better than the last? Or, can it just be Christmas, quiet and simple, without a lot of fuss, like a baby in a manger?”

Friends, Christmas is God’s gift.

It’s all about God. It’s not about better. It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus. It’s about God’s light coming into the world, God’s doings making the difference, God’s love bringing peace to earth.

Christmas doesn’t require anything from you. Christmas is God’s doing for you. Christmas happens. It’s a gift. Just wait. And when it happens, rejoice.