Merry Christmas?

As I sit here typing this blog, I'm watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, where little kids are declaring that Christmastime is here, our apartment is decorated for Christmas, the trees are lit....and yet I find myself identifying with Charlie Brown and not feeling like Christmas is really here. I work in a mall, and I can't help but ponder what Christmas has turned into and is really all about. We hear Christmas songs that tell us that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and yet is it really? If it is, someone sure forgot to tell all the people who are shopping in the mall. Without fail, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to bring out the worst in people. I see more hostile and rude customers in these six weeks than in the entire rest of the year combined.

Let me give you an example of the most fantastic ways that people behave. Today I was finishing up helping some lovely ladies who were very kind when a man reached his arm across the counter and shook his cup in my face because he wanted a refill. Thankfully in that moment I was able to maintain a high level of control and he is still alive today (and I still have a job). But really? I wanted to break his arm! :) What has our society embraced that Christmas brings about such stress and meanness?

I find myself at times wanting to ask the customers why they are shopping for people if it makes them so miserable and stressed out. Since it would be somewhat poor form to ask my customers that, I will ask all of us instead. What does Christmas mean to us? This blog is actually not meant to be a rant against consumerism or commercialism, although working in a mall does give me ample evidence to rant against both. Rather, my question is this: what does giving someone a gift mean to us? Or receiving a gift? When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, his parents received some visitors. The wise men brought very expensive gifts, and while I'm sure Mary appreciated their kindness, I find it most fascinating her response to the shepherds that is recorded in scripture. The shepherds had no tangible gift to offer - they were poor. But they told Mary and Joseph about how they had seen a multitude of angels who had declared to them that their Savior had just been born. As they shared their story and all they had seen and heard, that was what Mary treasured and pondered in her heart. That was what she never forgot. What is true of us this Christmas? Whether we give or receive physical gifts, what do we treasure and what do we ponder in our heart? What of ourselves are we offering others? What will we remember from this Christmas? And what will we forget?

Since Thanksgiving, I can count on one hand the number of people who have told me Merry Christmas as I helped them. Because it happens so rarely, it always stands out. We are so consumed with ourselves and stuff that we don't even see the very people who are serving us. So on behalf of those of us making it possible for you to Christmas shop - be kind this holiday season. Take the time to realize we are people and would love to receive kindness and a smile. We're tired too and we're doing our best to serve you well. And if shopping for Christmas gifts turns you into the grinch, perhaps it's time to reevaluate what it is we're doing and why we're doing it.

In the meantime, pray for me. We still have a couple of weeks before Christmas, and the madness just intensifies each day. I want my treatment of guests - even towards those who are rude - to convey grace and peace and Christ because I am who I am thanks to the gift God gave for me so many Christmases ago. But if one more person shakes a cup in my face.... :) Love you all and wishing you a truly magnificent Christmas season!