A long time ago, in a village far, far away...

I am not a huge Charlie Brown fan (I find him rather depressing), but his Christmas Special does valiantly strive to find meaning in the glitzy phantasmagoria that is the modern celebration of the 'Holidays' in American culture.  We have so much expectation, such high hopes, as if happiness and romance and miracles and family joy and life crises all magically get better or happen during this interesting time of year.  And when they don't, we come away disappointed and even more disenfranchised with the over-glorification and Christmas-cardification of the season, as if we expect to each star in our own Hallmark movie and are rather surprised when real life doesn't end with a kiss under the mistletoe.

I ran across this little blurb yesterday (full article here) that really struck me:

"During this Christmas season, focus on the small, beauty of your life. So much of an emotionally abusive childhood is marked by misplaced urgency, a lack of reflection or quiet. This Christmas, pull yourself out of despair by celebrating the small hidden beauty. That advice may sound cheesy, but there’s a quiet beauty and joy amid the glitzy, chaotic mayhem. Spend time looking for it."

Especially the phrase: 'a misplaced urgency, a lack of reflection or quiet,' really struck me.  You don't have to have an abusive past or broken family to understand that phrase.  Our whole idea of modern life is so hectic, busy, and frenetic, that we can hardly understand the quiet, the peace, the starkness, the fear, the wonder, the mystery of that first Christmas.  We get little hints and whiffs of it from the words of scripture and the seasonal hymns, but it is something altogether foreign to our modern sensibilities:

'While shepherds watched their flocks by night...'

'Tidings of comfort and joy...'

'It came upon the midnight clear...'

'There was no place for them at the inn...'

'Peace on earth, good will to men...'

'Fall on your knees...'

'Glorious now, behold Him arise...'

'Brighter visions beam afar...'

'The Silent Word is pleading...'

'Ground as hard as iron, water like a stone...'

Regardless of your background, your family history, your current circumstances, it is far from foolish to do as both the sagacious Mr. Brown and even a relatively obscure article on coping with the Holidays after emotional child abuse suggest: forget everything and focus on the true Reason for the Season.  Yes, your life is a mess, your family disappoints you, your finances are dreadful, your health is questionable, some crisis is looming, you've lost a dear one, all your hopes and dreams are stillborn, you are so busy and stressed out...that's precisely the reason He came in the first place, no not to fix your checking account, but rather to fix all the brokenness and sin, evil and darkness with which this world is fraught.  Forget it all for a moment, and focus on that child in the manger, let the awe and the wonder and the mystery dwell in your soul, and suddenly the fickle glitz of the season and your own problems matter not at all.

Merry Christmas!