Time to Refocus

So far this Christmas season I have taken 2 steps forward and about 100 backwards. For every 1 thing I have purchased, 10 things need to be returned. I have a list a mile long of returns that need to be made and it's not even Dec 1. J has a Christmas party and for the first time in years, I am not pregnant, which leaves the dilemma of what to wear. I'm not trying to hide a "Is she pregnant or just fat belly?" and everything that fits in that category in my closet is 5 years old....and for a pre-baby shape body. GRRR. My decorating is all half baked: I got stocking holders to spell SMITH, only they didn't have the I (it's on backorder); the garland on my front door only lights half way (got to find that bulb); the balanced look I was going for on my mantle only has one deer; the stakes to light the yard went, you got it, only down one half of the sidewalk...you get the idea. Oh, and not to mention that my 3 kids that are 4 and under are kicking my rear with this whole parenting thing. My almost 4 month old is no longer playing nice at night and her onesie that says, "All Mommy wants for Christmas is a Silent Night" rings a bit too true. To say I am a bit overwhelmed is an understatement. This is my favorite time of the year and in my usual Jen effort to make things perfect, I have added so much stress to my life. You see, I am not one of these to let things go as all the parenting books suggest; it just drives me crazy. Therefore, I am either exhausted trying to hold it together or about to jump out of my skin from all the chaos.

Sunday I walked into Sunday school and was met with the question of, "Are you teaching again soon?" My response was, 'not that I know of,' to which I was thinking, 'I'm barely keeping my head above water with important things like Christmas decorating.' (Priorities are not so great right now). Out of curiosity and because I have been hanging out with my two year old for too long, I asked, "why?" To which I got, "I remember you lesson from last year." Lesson from last year? Hmmmm....flattered, yes! but on the other hand it made me stop....what was it? Oh, a lesson on not missing the importance of Christmas. I don't believe in coincidences, AT ALL; I believe that the Lord allowed me to hear this, not because the lesson was so great for someone else, but because the lesson is GREAT for ME.

Apparently I struggle with this every year. When Grayson was one we took him to a Bethlehem market place. All he could ask over and over again was, "Where's Jesus?" We walked circles around that place, walked outside and scratched our heads. You see, we were expecting it to be obvious, but it wasn't. They had him tucked away in the middle of one of the sides and you had to be looking for him. We walked right by the manger scene several times and missed it.I'm ashamed to admit that I can run right through Christmas and miss it even when I am trying to do something spiritual like take my son to see a live nativity.

So, here's the lesson summed up in two words: JESUS CAME.

The whole premise of the lesson I was asked about was to not get so caught up in the To Do's on your list to miss the importance of the season. That reason is JESUS CAME. Boy, did I need a refresher on why I am STRESSED out and why I should not be. Everything I am doing is selfish, for me, for me to enjoy....instead of sitting back and saying Christmas is great, not because of all the decorations, but because Jesus came.

Jesus Came to Where They Were

In the book of Mark you find Jesus coming to where John was baptizing in the wilderness.

God chose the wilderness because it is a symbol, a very apt symbol. It is symbolic of where John's message was to fall upon the wilderness of mankind. The desert is a picture of us, of our dry, empty, barren, weary, bored, and distraught lives. And that is one of the reasons why John appeared there.

Mark 1:9 “At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan>”

Jesus came to where they were. Jesus came to them, in their sinful state. Jesus went out of his way, asking nothing of them. Jesus came to them. John 1:14 “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” . Don’t miss the significance here – there is nothing you can offer, nothing you can do, no works that you can give to him. Don’t miss that he did not ask anything from them, nothing is recorded of what he said, he simply met them where they were at. Go back to the gospel – what Christ did for us. Christ came to us.

There was so much more to the lesson from Mark 1 - that Jesus came identifying with us and that Jesus came proclaiming, but I want to just post the first part, that Jesus came and met us where we are.

Are you stressed out from decorating? Health have you overwhelmed? Finances short and bills high? Jesus came to meet you in this place in your life. Jesus came so that we could have peace with God. Jesus came and for that we rejoice, for that we celebrate, for that we proclaim.

So, as I refocus this Christmas season, I want to encourage you to do the same. Christmas is just this: Jesus Came.