Devotionals

Regaining the Magic of Christmas

Mary Wiley

Oct 30th

This Christmas season, I have it easy.  My husband and I have two small children ages 6 and 4, and they are the perfect Christmas age. Christmas is absolutely wondrous with them. We start early in our house – celebrating in some way every day between Thanksgiving and December 25th. We hang lights, decorate, sing Christmas songs, watch Christmas movies, bake Christmas cookies, give to others in need, and talk about and celebrate Jesus’ birth.

We do it all. And we love it all.
I love seeing Christmas through the eyes of my children.  
There is really only one word to describe it… magical.

I don’t know what stage of life you are in – whether you see through the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of children in your family or whether you instead see a packed schedule of family gatherings, stress, and budget constraints – but I bet you wish Christmas was a little less about busyness and schedules. Less predictable. Less painful. Less stressed about your checklist and more concerned about taking it all in one day at a time. Less worried about picking the perfect present and more concerned about living in the present.

I’m not sure the secret formula for you to have a more magical Christmas this year. Practically speaking, maybe you need to read a Christmas devotional each day during the Advent season. Maybe you need to read the Christmas story daily as if you’ve never read it before. Maybe you need to find a place to serve and give in lieu of presents.

I do know that one key is to remember just how magical the first Christmas morning must have been. A young girl gives birth to the very Son of God in an animal’s stable. The entrance of the Creator of the world was marked by the the sights and smells of today’s petting zoo. A great festival roared throughout Jerusalem celebrating a one-day coming Messiah, and He was laying in a feeding trough just around the corner. This story is magical. This moment is wondrous. God had come to earth.

As an author, this is the hinge-point of every message we share. That Jesus came to earth as a baby to live and die on a cross to save us and bring us to Himself. Our message to the world is like none other because Jesus is like none other. That truth, that reality – well, there is nothing more wondrous than that.

Amy Lowe is the manager of the Adult Ministry Publishing area at Lifeway. She is married to Matt, who serves as Family Pastor at their church and they are parents to Claire (6) and Jack (4).