I love Christmas! Lights, decorations, evergreen trees, presents, family gatherings, food, cookies, extra vacation days, Christmas cards, Christmas music… I love it all!

But sometimes I get so caught up in enjoying the many good things about Christmas that I can forget the real reason for our holiday- the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ (Luke 2). Without the greatest gift from our Heavenly Father, we would have no reason to celebrate; but because Jesus spent time here on earth and sacrificed His life in place of our own, we have every reason to be joyful and to celebrate!

Sadly, Christmas has become very commercialized, and the focus becomes getting and not giving. There are unspoken standards that some feel they must meet, such as: your house must be decorated like a Pinterest board, you must have a beautiful Christmas card to send to all of your family, friends, coworkers, and vague acquaintances, you must have dozens of homemade Christmas cookies of varying kinds in your kitchen, and you must have the PERFECT gift for EVERYONE. I often hear friends complaining about the busyness and stress of the season; and I, perhaps, have made some of those same complaints myself.

It’s times like this that I need to take a lesson from my care-free companions.

Sleep in. Relax. Enjoy the small things. Don’t stress!

Take time to relax this holiday season. Enjoy the little things, and remember to thank God for giving us His Son!