Where do you belong at Christmas?
November 19, 2018 |
As Christmas plans are being made, last years decorations are being located and unpacked, shopping is underway and you start fast-forwarding where you will spend Christmas day itself, it’s got me thinking about how much Christmas connects with our sense of belonging to something, someone or somewhere.
Christmas itself and our relationship with it in some ways is programmed by our parents, past circumstances and the choices we have made. There are loads of traditions that were my mothers that I carry forward like new pyjamas that have to be bought to wear Christmas eve, fruit and chocolates to be laid out Christmas eve and there are traditions of my own that I have incorporated like Christmas eve mass and my deep sense of wanting to be around or meet-up with and with those I know and love, even though I might not have seen them in ages.
In recent days it’s felt that I have itch I can’t quite scratch on the subject when I recognise that people who don’t even believe in Jesus still want to celebrate it commercially and I wonder what that is all about?
I wonder if people have got into a space where they don’t or can’t connect with the notion of church and see the bible as an out of date rule book that they have’t even opened.
Above all the trivial commercialism the heart of Christmas for me is that God loved us all so much he sent us his only Son so that in the flesh we were gifted a role model of how to do life. I see Jesus as this great guy who walked amongst ordinary people showing them how to have a good life in abundance and over flowing. He kept the company of imperfect people, giving them hope. He died so we may be forgiven no matter what we do. At any point of any day, if we mess up and ask for forgiveness, it is granted.
The gift of Jesus and Mother Theresa sit in my heart, alongside the love I have for my son, family and friends, anything over and above all that as far as gifts seems a bit irrelevant. I think I’d prefer to share a heart felt moment than a gift with someone, surely they and you are the gift?
Coming back to my opening questions, where do you belong at Christmas? Is it in my search of where I belong as Christmas that I ask you this question and it’s only I can answer that and only your heart can answer the question for you too!
Happy Christmas ponderings friends x
Love this old pic of one of my dearest friends and awesome I AM WOMAN Patron Margaret Carter
