What Christmas Means to Me

What Christmas Means to Me

While I like presents as much as the next gal, I much prefer giving gifts and spending time with my family. Some years it's a big crowd; other years, it's "just us" four.

I enjoy a relaxing day at home, free from stress and arguing, tension and strife.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding? I've never had any Christmas like that! Seriously, who can claim their Christmases are idyllic? Not even George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. Even after he comes back from the alternate future, things aren't perfect. What changes? Not the falling-apart handrail, or even his problems with money.

What changes is his attitude.

What Christmas means is the attitude of worship. The moment of realizing anew that God came down, approaching the humanity He created with such love and hope, to save us.

As John 1:14 says,

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory . . .
full of grace and truth.

To behold His glory, full of grace and truth. That is what Christmas means to me, and what I hope for my family this year. There will be tension and arguing, a little bossing around, and general chaos and craziness. Such is the way with families. But my hope this year is that I can once again, even for a moment, worship the One who stepped down from heaven to show me the way through His Son, Jesus.

To read what other military wives have to say, go to Wives of Faith!