Remember when...

Do you remember when you were little and you KNEW Santa was going to come to your house and bring you everything you've ever wanted?  Do you remember how you had your heart set on that ONE thing you HAD to have and you couldn't even think of anything else?  You were so blinded by your desire for that ONE thing that no level of prescription glasses could have helped you see beyond it.

Our little guy is having one of those years this year.  I kid you not, for the last three months, if you've asked Bugsy what he wants for Christmas all he can tell you is, "That red rocketship with those Little Einsteins in it like I played with at church."

Yep...that's the ONLY thing he wants in the whole wide world.  He's getting one...it's a hand-me-down, but he won't care.  He's pretty sure Santa's not going to bring him one because when he tried to talk to Santa at the hospital yesterday, Santa had already left.  He doesn't think Santa will know what he wants now.  That'll make the morning even more special when he opens it!

The whole thing has me thinking, though.  When's the last time I had a desire SO strong that I couldn't think of anything else?  Geesh. I think it's been a while!  In fact, I can't remember the last time I felt a desire even half that strong!  And now it's beginning to well up inside of me, even as I sit here typing, and I know what I NEED to want.  What I need to want, what I need to desire, is to change my entire focus.  The Christmas season does it to me every year, I suppose.  It seems, though, that the further we get into the year, the more the hustle and bustle gets to me and I lose sight of what really really matters.  What I really need to desire is to build in myself and the lives of my three little sweeties a deeper, much more profound love for Christ!

I've been working on it.  I'm so afraid that Christ will get lost in all the hubub of Christmas.  In fact, Thing 1 asked me just yesterday why there's a t in Christmas.  We don't SAY the t, so why do we need it?  We've always made sure to put the religious aspect of Christmas in with the secular.  We've never pushed Santa Claus.  The kids were in daycare or they probably wouldn't have had a clue who he even was!  But this year, I'm making it my goal to be SURE they know what Christmas is really about. 

Sure, we've written letters to Santa this year.  That's a first for us!  We don't take the kids to sit on Santa's lap, although it makes me a little sad because I remember that so vividly from my own childhood.  We will make cookies for Santa on "Christmas Eve."  We've already put in a call to have Santa come a day early because that's what our schedule dictates this year.  We've never told the kids that if they aren't good Santa won't come, though.  We don't use Santa as a threat because, let's face it...he's NOT coming!

You know who IS coming?  Jesus.  Yep...we're going to bake a cake for his birthday.  We did it last year, too.  We'll wake up Christmas morning and before we open a single present, we'll sing happy birthday to Jesus.  We'll eat our cake for breakfast. We'll remind the kids (and ourselves!) that we get to celebrate Christmas because God sent his son for us!  How amazing!  And then, yes, we'll open presents.  But we'll start our day with the focus on what REALLY happened.

I've started a new "tradition" (I hope!) this year as well.  It will be adapted.  My plan for next year (thank you Crazy Woman) is that we will wrap 25 Christmas books, some Christian and some secular, and each night in December one of the kids will open a book and we'll all read it and discuss it.  Our own little "Christmas Book Advent Calendar" of sorts.  For this year, though, I'm picking the books.  I'm trying to stick to Christ centered books as much as possible.  My kids are little and I don't want to confuse them with all the commercial Santa craziness of Christmas.  They're loving the one-on-one discussions about Jesus at bedtime.  I'm loving that they know the truth!  Yeah! 

I hope that as you look at the next 10 (okay, more like 9) days leading up to Christmas, you'll do everything you can to desire that ONE thing, with a desire SO strong you can't take your eyes off of it.  I hope with all my heart that you'll desire to see Jesus this Christmas season, and that your desire for him will last for an eternity and not be glossed over in the coming year.

May God truly bless you this Christmas season and beyond!