The True Source of Christmas Joy

True Christmas joy comes from knowing in our hearts that we are celebrating the birth of Christ.

Often when Christmas draws near, joy is the last thing on our minds. It often gets lost along the way with our peace. We rush around at the last minute trying to get it all done and all we feel is worn out. Sometimes we get it all done. Sometimes we plan perfectly. We got the perfect gifts for everyone. The house is spotless and we can’t wait  for everyone to open those perfect gifts.

Then someone in our family gets the flu or a stomach bug and Christmas is ruined. Our joy is gone. Other times when we thought we got that perfect gift for someone we loved, but that person was not nearly as impressed as we were. Our feelings are hurt and Christmas is ruined. There are other things that we allow to ruin our holiday like burning the dressing, or the perfect Southern Living cake not turning out like the picture.

Perhaps the biggest issue of joy stealing during Christmas is getting families together. When we bring together a bunch of adult children who have made families of their own, fireworks can often occur and not in a good way. While we love our families individually, being together in large gatherings often requires some grace on our part. Sometimes words are said that can’t be taken back and once again, our Christmas is ruined.

But, with all of the things I’ve talked about here, from food issues, to gifts, to sickness, to family issues, none of these have anything to do with the true meaning or true joy of Christmas. Over the years, our friends in Hollywood along with Norman Rockwell and Currier and Ives, have made Christmas a picture of perfection that no family, no gift, nor meal could possibly match.

While many of us including myself, have many fabulous Christmas memories of gathering with family, the true meaning is about a God who loves us so much that He sent his son to us as a simple, helpless, human infant. He became one of us. That child would grow up to die for us and willingly save us all, so that we could live forever.

That is where Christmas joy should come from. It has absolutely nothing to do with cranberry sauce or turkey or the perfect gift or whether visiting family is getting along . Perhaps during this Advent Season, we should pray that God would remind us of that truth and remind us again every time we are tempted to allow Christmas to be ruined by something that in truth, has nothing to do with the birth of  Immanuel, which simply means, “God with us.”

As I write this, Christmas is eight short days away. Perhaps we should decide ahead of time to remember the true joy of Christmas and where it comes from. Maybe we should remember that because of this joyous birth that we celebrate, nothing can separate us from the love of God. That kind of truth creates a joy that cannot be stolen. That kind of truth reminds us that Christmas can never be ruined.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂