December 22
“Christmas Imperfection,” by Teela Crecelius
We have all seen National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in which Clark Griswold sets out to create the best Christmas ever. Throughout the movie, he attempts to put on the best light display in the entire town, to bring home the largest Christmas tree, to bake the most savory Christmas turkey, and to secure a large Christmas bonus. It can clearly be seen that Griswold desires the “perfect” Christmas, but he missed the whole reason for the season. At the end, he realizes that Christmas is about Christ and being with family, and not about materialistic presentation.
I feel that this scenario plays out all too often in today’s society. Most of us desire to have the most beautiful tree, to give the best gifts, and to serve the best Christmas dinner. It is easy to find ourselves forgetting why we celebrate this season – the birthday of the Christ child. We don’t need “25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights” on our house or a 15-foot Christmas tree in order to celebrate Christmas. We simply need to reflect on the Christmas story, celebrate the babe in the manger, and thank God for sending his Son to Earth. Let’s all give Christ the best birthday present ever by remembering Him in all we do this season.
Dear Jesus,
Please help us to remember why we celebrate the Christmas season. Thank you for giving us the most important Christmas gift ever by sending your Son to Earth.
