Christmas Eve Eve - A New Tradition

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! 

Ok, I know that celebrating the day before the day before Christmas is a little strange and redundant, but if you're as excited as I am about Christmas then you'll understand. (FYI, I'm one of those nuts who cheered when they had Christmas decorations coming out in tandem with the Halloween junk.) I won't appologize for it. I just love Christmas

Christmas is rough for the guy living single. Wait... before you jump the gun and assume that statement is going to lead to me qhining and pining about being alone, let me nip that thought in the bud and assue you that's not the case! It's rough because there are so many people I forget or am unable to say "Merry Christmas" to the way I would like. See, when I was still living at home my folks would help remind me who needs to be remembered and even supply gifts or cards to send to special someones (like Grandma... YIKES! I FORGOT GRANDMA!). Even in college, I had the excuse of "I'm in college." And that excuse is accepted without question. College students being just a step above the homeless in terms of social responsibility.

But living life on your own, you learn that in between the daily grind of wok and trying to stay sane after work, there remains little time (or energy) to go through the lists of people I know and determine who I should send Christmas too. I barely have the ability to keep my house clean, cat fed and laundry clean. Although, I did free up just enough energy to keep my place from being designated a disaster area by shaving my head. You wouldn't believe how much time can be saved by not shampooing AND conditioning. 

What's more, Christmas cards are EXPEN$IVE! Hallmark, I love that you captured my thoughts on Christmas and made a very nice looking card... but for $4.50 I could get a person a peppermint latte at Starbucks, which I think would be better appreciated that a colorful piece of cardboard that won't even be remembered come January. Next year, I wish Santa would bring me an inexpensive yet personalized way to remember and tell everyone I know "Merry Christmas."

Interjected story time! I have to tell you this. Consider it my Christmas gift to you for reading this quasi-holiday blog. Yesterday I joined a crack team of experienced movers to help relocate the Florida District office of the Wesleyan Church. Well, among the usual characters of heavy things that need to make it through a tiny door and into a U-haul (conference tables, desks, plastic trees, etc...) was this one particular object that I named "ARRRGHBINKHGFGDCGFDFJGKHOITURYT)(*&%^$#@$%^&*(." Ok, if you can't determine what that was from the name, let me describe it more articulately and then you'll understand. 

This item happened to be a filing cabinet. Not just any filing cabinet, no, this was Satan's filing cabinet. This filing cabinet was imbued with the added ability of being able to withstand fires. Apparently weighing 600lbs equals fire proof. The walls of this cabinet were so thick and sturdy that I have serious doubts that fires were all this thing could've withstood. I was willing to bet money that I could crawl inside and survive a nuclear holocaust quite comfortably. Needless to say, this beast was the prized portion of the day requiring 6 strapping men just to push it up a ramp into the truck... Thankfully no one was pancaked by this behemoth.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING! Only a couple dozen hours stand inbetween the world and the joy of Christmas celebrations. Children, young and old, waking up on Sunday morning jumping with expectations onto their parents' bed begging to go out to the tree and share their love for each other by opening the gifts they've carefully chosen and wrapped especially for each other. The snow glittering from the sky bathing the world in purest white... well... I'm in FL, so I tend to romanticize that part of the experience of Christmas day. 

I love Christmas (you may have read that somewhere). I cannot sleep Christmas Eve night... I'm 24. I don't care about getting presents. I just want to see the joy on my family's face when they open up their presents. I've already received the greatest gift of all. I love when we remember the reason for the season as a family. Our tradition, shared by countless others, is to read the Christmas story found in Luke. We let our minds travel back in time 2,000 years to the birth of Christ. We allow our hearts to be touched by the greatest gift that man ever received - Jesus, salvation, reconciliation, LIFE!

I love Christmas because it represents the greatest moment in history, when God wrapped himself in humanity and came to earth as one of us. He humbled himself into the lowest of circumstances. Jesus lived for the purpose of death. A sacrificial lamb to pay for everything wrong I've ever done. Selflessly giving everything just so I (and everyone else) could have an opportunity for forgiveness and life everlasting. That gift is totally better than an iPad. The Christmas miracle is this - That God loved us SO MUCH, he would be willing to come in person to give us life. What do we deserve? I'm barely considerant enough to acknowledge that I forget people on Christmas. I don't deserve a gift like this... no one does. But that's not the meaning of Christmas. Santa demands you be good for presents. God gave us the best one even when all we deserved was coal. Sorry, St. Nick, I think you need to reevaulate your principles there. Amazing love. Christmas. 

So, this Christmas I'm hoping that everyone takes a moment to reflect on WHY we even celebtrate the season. I'm praying that everyone can appreciate and accept the greatest gift ever given. And I'm excited already to share the love and joy that is the natural biproduct of this amazing gift of God, Jesus Christ. 

What's YOUR favorite part of Christmas? AND, if you could give someone special the BEST gift, what would it be?

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALL!