'Tis the season to be... thankful

Christmas this year was a little different to previous years. In the past our Christmas celebrations revolved around travelling to Dimboola or Horsham or wherever Grandpa and Grandma were. But now, since mine and my uncle's family are the only ones left, we had to figure out something different to do. And since both I and my aunty had to work on Christmas day, we spent the day in different towns.

Still, it was a nice day. We had a quiet dinner at home, and played Scrabble all afternoon. It was... nice. I will admit though, there was a different feeling. Maybe it's because I'm older every year, but I recall being increasingly bewildered at the 'silly season' and where it's heading. Hearing of heated arguments in shopping centre car parks over parking spaces made me wonder - have we forgotten the real meaning of Christmas? To me, it seems like people have become consumed with making sure the dinner's just right, and that the presents they have bought will be 'good enough' for the recipient, or at least equal to or better than those of the other gift-givers. And then, because most are not entirely satisfied with what they get, they take the receipt which was packed with the present, and line up on boxing day to return it to the store, so they can buy what they really wanted!

I don't think I'm the only one thinking 'THIS IS NOT WHAT IT'S MEANT TO BE!!'. That's why I think I really enjoyed the simple Christmas we had this year. Just a simple dinner, a few lollies, a few small gifts, and a bucketload of love. That is what I think it's meant to be. And why? Because of the why. The reason for the season - that's why Christmas should be about giving, not receiving. Because God gave - he loved us so much that he gave. He gave Jesus, because he cares about our messed up world and doesn't want it to be this way. God is the ultimate giver, and we would all do well to be a lot more like him. We would love others so much that we would continually give instead of looking after our own needs - we would give others our care, our time, our kindness - meeting their needs, and making a difference in their life. God gave at the first Christmas - so I'd encourage you to go ye and do likewise!

Finally, I just want to point out something really cool that happened at this Christmas - it was really cool, actually. We've been praying for communities affected by the terrible bushfires we've had this year, and lo and behold, on Christmas day, many of them awoke to find snow outside! We were praying for rain, but they received an even better Christmas gift - a white Christmas. And if you live in Australia, you'll know that that pretty much never happens. So thank God for this amazing Christmas miracle!