I love Christmas. It is an amazing season of the year. It is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Christmas is also a time for family and for making memories. Mr. Gorgeous often teases me about our shed having one box of autumn decorations, one of Easter decorations, and six or more filled with Christmas decorations. It may be possible that I go a tad bit overboard for Christmas — slightly possible, that is. I love to decorate for the Christmas season. When our boys were small we had two foot tall Christmas trees in their room and our room. The boys was decorated with wooden blocks and toy cars. It was, after all, their tree. Our tree had only lights on it — red chile pepper lights, to be exact. When we moved to Colorado to pastor the church, the parsonage was quite small and we quit putting trees in the bedrooms. In fact, during our first Christmas here we realized that our tree was too large for the small living room. We managed to use it that first year, but the next year we bought a “low carb” tree — one with smaller hips, also known as a “slim line tree.” It fits perfectly in the living room.

Within our decorations you will find memories and traditions. Nearly everything that we have tells a story. There is the fox on skis that I got the year I learned to cross country ski. The Santa driving a forklift that Mr. Gorgeous received when he became a certified forklift operator. There is a tuba; it’s from Ben’s year as a tuba player in the CHS marching band. The black and white comedy/tragedy mask ornament is a symbol of Phil’s first professional opera season. Before Nate left home and took his ornaments, there was an enormous gorilla lifting weights — that one is probably self explanatory. When Nate married Maira, she wore gorgeous purple high heels — she now hangs a purple high heel ornament on their tree. There are ornaments that were handmade by our boys, some that were gifts, many sea shells, and numerous musical ornaments. Standing on a small shelf in the living room, you will see a two foot tall Victorian Santa — a gift from a family in one of the churches we pastored. So many things, so many memories.

Unfortunately, this year… well, I’m kind of not in the mood to decorate. It’s been a tough few months. Our church has lost some folks who have moved; other folk are wintering elsewhere. John is losing his “job” at the end of the year. Finances are tight. The mines in our area have laid off more than 200 miners resulting in our school district being financially stressed. The “Common Core” and new laws regarding teachers are making my job more stressful than fun. Emotionally, I’m exhausted. Honestly, I hadn’t realized how much these events had effected me until I began struggling to decorate our house.

The deck is lit with a star and LED lights, the tree is up — it doesn’t have a topper yet and the chains of stars that have been on our trees for years haven’t been located, but it has lights and decorations. I will finish decorating; I will. But more than decorate, I will celebrate.

Christmas is precious to me and so are the decorations. However, the reason we celebrate Christmas is the thing that will get me through these stressful weeks. This Sunday, when I walk into church, the manger will be sitting by the Christmas tree — it will be filled with white lights that are covered by tulle. That precious reminder will bring me once again to place of hope, to a spirit of peace, to a heart of thanksgiving. I’m more than ready. At some point during the next few weeks, I will ask our people to bring their problems to Jesus — to lay them in the manger; to remind themselves that Jesus came to be light in the world AND light in our hearts. Before then, though, I will remind myself again (and again and again and again) until I really remember, that the tree and all of the STUFF are intended to point us to the true reason to prepare for Christmas… the presence of Christ in our world, in our homes, in our hearts… in MY heart.

Yes, I will finish decorating but I think that before I do, I need to do some housecleaning. Really, I need to do some heart cleaning. That is my priority one in getting ready for Christmas this year.