by April Cao

Dear Friends,

I saw you cringe the other day at the realization that Christmas is right around the corner. And instead of being overcome by the magic of the season, you drew in a deep breath and then sighed heavily like it was tax season instead of the most wonderful time of the year!

I know you might be imagining the long lines awaiting you at the airport on Christmas Eve, and you must be fretting over how you’ll manage to shove all of those brightly wrapped packages into your largest carry-on without having to pay for extra baggage. I think you can sense that this is the year of the “great blizzard of 2010” and quiver at the thought of being trapped in a regional airport with four children under the age of six and a husband who just-for once-wanted some peace and quiet for the holidays.

Maybe you’re staying home this year but the price of the newest gaming system that the kids have been begging for since December 26th of last year is making you swoon. You know you’ll have to work over time to afford it and inevitably will have to face the crush of harried Wal-Mart shoppers on your lunch break in hopes of grabbing one of the precious few left on the shelves.

I also heard a rumor your family might be coming to town and that this year your little brother is bringing his new, very sophisticated raw-vegan eating girlfriend who chain smokes and smells like Coco Chanel . You’ve already received two phone calls asking for your cooperation in her conscientious objection to the cruelty of animals and would you please consider not making the usual spiral ham this year? Oh, and would it be okay if they share a bedroom-they are adults for goodness sakes. It’s time to come into the twenty first century, sis.

But maybe it’s just the running around that’s got you down. You’re late sending out the Christmas cards (the only decent family picture is from the summer when Joey had his finger up his nose and Sarah chose that moment to discover her belly button), you haven’t started shopping for gifts and this year-on top of everything else you have to do-the PTA has asked you to coordinate the teacher cookie exchange scheduled for the day before winter break. You wanted to say thank you for the vote of confidence but no thank you, only it IS the PTA and you think they’re a little bit like the mafia and prefer to stay on their good side. You despise the thought of sugar cookies just thinking about it…

Take heart dear friend because in spite of all of these man made, self inflicted expectations there is peace to be found! The glory and beauty of this season can be found in the hope that is the birth of our Savior! We’ve become so consumed with the distractions of this world that we forget that the reason there is a Christmas is only because of Christ! In Jesus we have the honor of celebrating the birth of the King, both a Shepard and Lamb gifted to us by our loving God. He is the reason we rejoice! He is the reason we sing silent night, holy night! He is the reason for it all! It’s not just about a baby lying in a manger, but about a promise fulfilled all for the sake of man whom God loves abundantly.

So when you’re waiting in the check out line for almost an hour and feel your blood pressure starting to rise, look around you. All of these people, doing the same thing? Are there because of Him and this holiday. Maybe they know it and maybe they don’t. But you do. You know that all of the effort, all of the frustration is because this is the time of year when we can so easily and outwardly share God’s love. So make it count, friend. No one will remember if your Christmas card arrives after the 25th and the postal service is pretty much the unilateral fall guy for all late arriving packages. So enjoy this time, wish everyone you see a very Merry Christmas and God’s blessings for a wonderful new year. Make each person you come in contact with an extension of the blessings you have been given this year-even if they seem to have been small in number. You never know who you will bless with a smile or a phone call, a gift or a visit. Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

About the Author:
April Lakata Cao is a native of Northern Virginia and currently resides in Virginia Beach, Va., where she has just completed her eighth move in eleven years of marriage. April and her husband, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, have two beautiful children ages four and seven. Visit her blog, Amazing Grace, at  www.intoourheart.blogspot.com.