By Heather (Balance With Purpose)
“Let’s face it. We all know Christmas is just a racket
set up to make people buy lots of stuff they don’t need.”
~ Lucy Van Pelt
Is Lucy from Peanuts right? Is Christmas a racket? Are we sucked into buying more than we can afford by retail ads promising the “lowest prices of the season?” Do we buy items we wouldn’t normally buy just because they were truly low prices?
So, how have you fared this holiday season? Did you overspend? Did you keep to your list? Did you set and stick to a budget?
Christmas is a week away. There are a few items on my list that I didn’t find, but I purchased other items in their place. I’m thinking I need to stop, but it’s so hard. I know if I keep looking I can find those items on the list with no checkmark to the left.
Charlie Brown always has one item on his list–to find the true meaning of Christmas. Do you have that checked off your list? I know I struggle from time to time making sure others can see the meaning of Christmas in me.
We all know the significance of December 25, but do we live our lives remembering the significance? Will someone see Christ in us if they were to witness the looks on our faces as we wait in line to pay for a single Christmas gift? Will they see hope in us as we search and find that last parking space available at the mall? Do we offer grace to others who cut us off while driving or kindness to those who rush past knocking something out of our hands by accident even when they might not show kindness themselves?
It is not for me to judge whether others get the true meaning of Christmas, but it is up to me to make sure I understand the meaning and share it with others through my actions. It is up to me to make sure that my gift to my neighbors this Christmas is love, kindness and grace–the same gift God gave me when he gave his son to me.
Lucy is right. She is also human (okay, that’s a stretch) and is seeing a very human world in which Christmas is a racket set up to force other non-perfect humans to overspend on things they don’t need
You know what? I am finished shopping this year, because the best gift I can give didn’t cost me anything. It was already paid for and delivered.
Heather Sunseri is a Christian, wife and mother of two young children. She has worked as a CPA for the past 15 years for thoroughbred horse farms and in public accounting in Central Kentucky. She spends her free time as an inspirational writer and enjoys the little things in life from long bike rides in the country to homemade pizza and family game night.