Christmas. The word summons mental pictures of our personal memories mixed with visions of what others such as Kincaid, Disney, or Rockwell have depicted.
Emotion. This season is overflowing
with emotions. But between our personal memories and those that have been
glamorously airbrushed for us, many of us have become jaded. Burnt out. Dead to
any of the wonder or magic that once may have existed for us in this season. Do
you find yourself filled with “Christmas Spirit” this year? Or has the
mesmerizing become the mundane?
Some of us are simply overstimulated
and may want to cover our ears, scrunch our eyes closed, and cower while
yelling, “STOP!” as the ads, music, activities, and general merriment
activities fly at us off the conveyor belt at an ever increasing speed. Do you
find a longing in your heart for a different sort of Christmas scene? Perhaps the
type we associate with songs such as Silent Night and O Little Town of
Bethlehem?
Listen, many of us are just
remembering the high points of seasons past, or, worse, are operating on false
information altogether! The first Christmas was no more quiet than ours is
today. Goodness sake, they traveled back to their home town, stayed with (ack)
extended family, and everyone had gathered for the glorious event of… being
taxed. If that doesn’t warm the crowd for a great show, I just don’t know what
will. But within the hustle and bustle of a BUSY event in Bethlehem, several found
the opportunity for brief reprieves; a woman in a stable having a baby,
shepherds in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night, and even the magi
on a royal road trip.
The fascinating (and alarming) thing
about memories is you can actually mix to suit. Some believe that for our
psychological benefit, our brains allow painful memories to fade and only the
pleasant to endure. There are tragic events in lives that some may rehearse over
and over, but even these memories sometimes become “repressed.” And like an old
computer, as these painful or even tragic events continue to run and refresh in
the background of our minds, our performance in our present life is slowed and
slogged; our peak potential is inhibited.
So what about us? Our hustle and
bustle can no more be removed than it could for those who experienced it that
first Christmas season. But what can we
do in light of all these emotions being stirred by this season? Should we just
ignore them?
Is the performance of the computer improved
when the processing speeds (which is most similar to our own) are just ignored?
Of course not! We all know that to be a ridiculous supposition. So why, even
for a moment, would we entertain the notion that this solution would work for
our own minds? Our own hearts? Our own emotions?
Often emotions are vilified; we are
overly emotional “hot messes” or we are unyielding with hearts of stone. Yet
emotions are near and dear to the very heart of God and we are created in His
image. We see from scripture that some of God’s emotions include anger,
laughter, compassion, grief, love, hate, jealousy, and joy. We see that Jesus
himself, God in bodily human form, also experienced emotions including weeping (with
those who wept), compassion, and being overcome with sorrow. God also desires for us to experience them so that we might
be tender and responsive to each other and to Him.
Emotions can be beautiful indicator
lights that drive us more deeply into a passionate relationship with God
Himself. Are you confused by something? Scared? Excited? As a group of ladies and I studied this past
semester, we were challenged to note “Emotions aren’t smart. They don’t think.
They just feel.” So, rather than trying to ignore it or figure it out on your
own, why not try a different response? Could you instead take the emotion, your
mind and heart, to the Creator of all emotions asking Him to reveal His heart
and His ways in the situation, even asking Him then how He would have you to
respond? Just as a check engine light drives you to get in touch with your
mechanic (right away. The sooner the better!), so our emotions should motivate
us to seek out the mechanic of our very essence; the Creator Himself. Are you
feeling love, hate, joy, grief, jealousy, peace, loneliness, or even just a
void absence of feelings this season? When you feel any emotion being stirred
in your soul, turn your heart to seek His heart. Lift your face to seek His
face. Allow Him to illuminate the reasons for your personal experiences of
emotions. Allow Him to come into your present so that you can experience the
emotions together, like the best of friends.
What would keep you from getting to
the auto mechanic asap? So what will you allow to get in the way of getting to
your soul mechanic? What if you would take some time with Him today and let him
show you what needs to be removed, changed out, or even added - sometimes you
need an additive to strip out the gunky yuckiness (pardon my educated
terminologies). What if time with Him is all it would take to prime your spirit
to once again experience His spirit during this season? What if within that
moment all the wonder, ultimately all the passion, of the season could again be
released for you?
Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 “Then
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be
washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.
26 And I will give you a new
heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn
heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
27 And
I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful
to obey my regulations.
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