Peace On Earth

It's been a while again since my last post, but I have been very busy in the last few months. We are nearly done with our basement reno, and the kids are happy to have a space of their own again (parents, too!). We have some issues with our new carpet, but hope that'll be ironed out before too long and then we can officially move in.
I felt the need to post because it is Christmas, and being a Christian, this season is especially meaningful. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ--a gracious gift from God to all mankind. And it's fun to tie that in with giving gifts to our loved ones, and just generally celebrating & having fun. Doesn't that sound lovely? So why am I so bummed? So exhausted? So ready to pack up and leave and go far, far away?
It's just too much! Everybody wants a Christmas party or banquet. Everybody wants to exchange gifts. Everybody wants you to bring food & goodies. Everybody has a pageant or a concert you have to see. Well, how about a Christmas season of nothing but 'peace on earth'--where we actually have the time to sit down and reflect on what this season really means to us?
By now, you must be feeling the temptation to dismiss me as a Scrooge. But wait: it's not that I don't like Christmas...it's that I don't like what Christmas has been made into.
We have friends who are missionaries in a remote mountain jungle, and every Christmas that they spend out there is so very different than the ones they spend out here when on furlough. Most of the people they live around are poor, first of all, so the extravagance is non-existent. It is a very 'low-key' kind of celebration season. I told them (they are here this Christmas) that if I can ever afford to take the trip to visit them, I will plan it for the month of December. I long to experience what Christmas is supposed to be.
Thankfully, I feel like 'the worst' is behind me, as Christmas Eve is just 2 days away. I look forward to spending a few days of down time with our families, and not racing through the shopping malls searching desperately for the perfect gift for someone who already has everything. I've done no 'Christmas baking', which is highly unusual for me, but intend to make a few simple family favorites in the next day or two. Because Christmas Eve falls on Sunday this year, we have our Sunday School program in the morning, and the rest of the day is ours! We have learned to celebrate our own (family) Christmas whenever it works best around here-- 23rd, 24th, 25th--whenever we are not required to be at the extended family gatherings. I hope that my children will learn that it is not important which day you celebrate on, but that you do make time to celebrate together.
So, there you have it, my Christmas rantings. Just needed to let off a little steam, and spare some innocent by-standers my tantrums. While I long for my own little 'peace on earth', I do hope and pray that you will find some too this Christmas season!