The One Gift We Really Need This Christmas
“I’m ready for Christmas to be over.”
She’d said it with a laugh as the store clerk scanned her pile of purchases, but her voice was pinched and strained, and I could see the weariness in her eyes confirming the truth of her words.
The woman behind the cash register murmured an Amen, echoing the sentiment with an empathetic nod and a shrug of her shoulders. “I usually just sleep through Christmas,” she admitted.
I stood quietly in the long snaking line, waiting to purchase that last gift on my list and a wise pastor’s words rang in my head:
“Satan delights in the walking dead. If he can’t have your heart, he’ll just try to numb it.”
The woman behind me harrumphed impatiently about the ridiculous wait and a man three-persons back stomped off in search of another cash register.
And I stood there in the mall five days before Christmas and squeezed my eyes shut in an exaggerated blink to stop those tears from seeping right over the rims.
If Satan can’t keep us from life, he’ll try to keep us half-alive.
If he can’t keep us from the Savior, he’ll simply sedate our souls.
The speakers overhead chimed with tinny tunes but my heart didn’t feel like singing along.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
Those words can taunt rather than tantalize when a person’s soul is dazed and dry.
I could see it in the mall on December 20– the sagging shoulders and spark-less eyes, the hurry and worry, the exasperation and exhaustion.
And I felt angry at the way the Old Snake tries to hijack our holy-day.
If we’re not careful, he takes the spin and frenzy of the season and turns it into a lackluster lull-a-bye, singing our souls to sleep with the rhythm of rush and the blinking of lights, the melody of too-much and the harmony of have-to’s…
And then, we wake on Christmas morning, too tired and tattered to make our way to the manger where the miracle awaits; too worn to open our eyes and see the miracle of Immanuel.
It’s a crazy thing, isn’t it—
The way we fight the crowds and fight for the best sales, fight to find the perfect gift and fight that deep-down ache,
But we fail to fight for wonder. We don’t fight to stay awake.
There are some gifts we can only see with our hearts; some presents we can only receive when we’re awake to the miracle in the manger.
“Did you find everything you need?” the cashier asked, bagging my purchase without ever glancing at her hands.
I smiled. “I think I need just one more thing…”
She nodded, not really hearing what I’d said.
Then I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. And with every step, I asked Jesus for the gift I want most this Christmas–
Wake me up, Jesus. Wake me up.
‘Cause I don’t want those brightly wrapped packages beneath my tree to be the only things that are opened on December 25.
I want the eyes of my heart to be opened, too.
Awake, my soul!
-Psalm 57:8
What gift do you need most this Christmas, dear friends?
Awesome reminder of the real reason of CHRISTMAS. I’ve found myself saying I wish it was over and this was a great reality check. Searching my heart now to be awakened from the numb areas so I can feel the excitement of the birth !
This is gorgeous! Sharing! May I not get so caught up in the business that I forget the real reason for the Christmas celebrations. Thank you for this important reminder. I needed this today.
We were talking with a family after church today about how we have scaled back Christmas (as in the trappings) for a more simple approach. We still have gifts but not the guilt of way too much spending, a few baked goods (not an overload) and simple decor. It really keeps my heart more open to being “more awake” as you so wonderfully put it and more open to celebrating Jesus rather than self. I have far to go but I am trying…I echo your post of being awake and pray for more as the new year approaches. Merry Christmas to you and yours!