Taming the Grinch

I was feeling a little bah- humbuggy this morning when I went to read the 2 morning devotionals that come to me via email every day. Seems like they are all about Christmas. I want some good meat and potatoes spiritual food - I know all about this Christmas business....grrrr.... Give me something new!!!!

Well now, Ms. Grinch - maybe the pot is calling the kettle black? And I realized how my last 3 blog posts have also been based on the very Christmas story I know sooooo much about! God has been humbling me like this a lot lately. And you know what? It feels GOOD.

I realized that in all my 39 Christmases past, I have learned something new every year. That is the miracle of Christmas! It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Our circumstances change so much from year to year that each season we have a new perspective and a new focus. And we get to add the bonus of new memories to be made. Instead of grumbling about being overwhelmed by it all (the parties, music, decorations and even devotionals that are just IN YOUR FACE) I'm going to embrace the attitude adjustment I've been given and learn to see those as blatant reminders of the wonderful gift we've been given......For God So Loved the World!

I was also a bit grinchy at my son's basketball game last night. Thankfully no one knew about it but me. I saw a few faces that have not been so kind to me over the last few months and had negative thoughts running through my mind. As I sat there grumbling in my head, I had a little divine tap on the shoulder that reminded me..... "Love them." I began a little debate in my head and got a little defensive. It's SO HARD to love them! But ..... it really isn't. It's as simple as a choice. And once I resolved that conflict in my head I began to see the connection. They hurt too, they are not happy, they lash out or ignore my pain because they don't want to acknowledge their own. I get it. I understand. I was that girl once....WAS. But now I AM new or at least in progress - and I get a new lesson every day. This is how God loves me - He corrects me and refreshes my attitude.

This Christmas I may be alone and I may not be involved in all the hustle and bustle. But I love looking at Christmas from the outside in. It is a truly new perspective and I hope to embrace and carry the memory forward. If you find yourself grumbling about the busyness of the season, remember that there is someone who may be feeling left out. Someone who lost a loved one, or who is sick, or who is new in town without family......even someone recently divorced like me. While I am loving Christmas without the activity, others find it hard to take and I hope I can offer a small glimpse of Christ to them this year.

Let's not get so wrapped up in the celebration that we forget to remember the Gift!

Romans 12:2 ^1-2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.