Circles

Christmas. It’s here. The man up the hill had his front yard decorated and lit up this last weekend. Menards has super huge Christmas inflatables. As big as a house. McDonald’s, the weekend before Halloween, had “holiday” drinks on their menu. *sigh*

I sort of don’t like how fast it comes, but I’m so glad to be past all of the creepy, dark Halloween stuff. I can now safely shop with my kids without having to avoid the super bloody masks hanging near the checkout at the drugstore.

We were asked today to read for Advent at an upcoming service. I saw a few of my friends promoting Advent liturgy on Facebook today. I admit I’m getting excited for Christmas. I’m going to write more about this later, but I am refusing to “give in” to many pressures in life lately. One is to not get too amped about Christmas.

Walking through Menards tonight, we saw all of the sweet, interesting miniature houses all lit up. Bell chapel, gas station, Christmas trees and even a Menards store. And yes, nestled in the midst, was a nativity scene.

Picture this in your mind: a small stable. There is a star on top. There are a few animals seated around sweet baby Jesus. And, rotating around the stable, are 3 wise men. Circling, round and round.

There was another couple behind us and I said, “huh, the wise men seem to be missing something. Maybe they are saying, ‘I thought they told us He was around here somewhere?!’ ”

But round and round they go, never getting to Him.

I said, “Maybe that is why it took them so long to get to Jesus.”

I kept looking at the “wise men” just circling. It was hilarious actually.

Then sad. “Isn’t that just like us?” I said to the couple and to Brian. “We just keep going ’round and ’round, looking for Jesus. And the whole time, He’s all lit up. Right there. We just don’t see Him.”

Maybe Christmas seems to be coming earlier every year. We could get mad about that. We could run around in circles, complaining about the calendar, feeling cheated out of Thanksgiving, getting anxious about what to buy and how much to spend. We could run in circles, making plans, worrying about the in-laws and how much weight we’ll gain…

Or we could head straight for the manger, rushing past all of the temptations, the materialistic, anxious circles that miss the point. And we might just fly through the holidays with smiles on our faces!

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