Saturday, December 16, 2023
“Proof that You Are NOT Ready for Christmas”
It’s here and it’s all about you! Today is the first “Last Call” to send mail and packages through the USPS for on-time Christmas arrival. Sure, you could spend some extra cash tomorrow or the next day for packages to be delivered, but why spend the extra cash when snail mail can do it just fine?
No matter who you are, you aren’t ready for Christmas. If you are a procrastinator at heart, you already know that you’re not ready for Christmas, so you can stop reading now. If you’re one of those people who is always early, never misses a deadline, and rarely forgets a date, I can almost guarantee that you’re not ready for Christmas, either. Why? Because you’re going to invent things to do that will cause you anxiety. Oh sure, you may not think that you’re very creative, but in fact, you’re the most creative of everyone because it takes a special mind to create a need that doesn’t exist. You’re gonna create so many projects that it would be impossible for anyone to complete them all.
Lots of people send me notes thanking me for giving them permission to be late, delinquent, unprepared, and so on. In response to all of them, I thought it would be a good idea to also give a little support to the ones who are always so prepared that they create new things just to keep themselves busy. I’d like to give you permission to create new things, not because idle time is foolish, but because your sharp mind is what helps the rest of us stay afloat.
Someone must remember the cranberries. That’s you. It’s your responsibility because even though you’ve already done all the Holiday meal shopping, you’ll still be going to the grocery store every day.
I’m giving everyone, whomever you are, permission to not be ready for Christmas. It’s okay. The world was not ready for the first Christmas. Nor can any of us be fully prepared for all the blessings God is about to bring this Christmas. Our simple minds and human hearts don’t have the capacity to fully absorb all the stuff that God wants to do for us. Even our best theological training can’t prepare us, which is why God’s love for the world is so incredible. God loves our idiosyncrasies and individuality so much that God is willing to overlook how unprepared we are…and then give it to us anyway.
Ain’t that awesome? Ain’t it cool? You’re not prepared, and it doesn’t matter. If you do nothing more, Christmas is still happening with the greatest item on the list already complete: God’s love! God is still bringing Christmas into your world and into your life and, in fact, Emmanuel – God with Us – is already here. Get ready! It’s Christmas!
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23, KJV)