Did you know there is a Christmas Ogre?
No, I'm not talking about Shrek. Though he is sorta cute and has seemed to have made his way into the Christmas holiday traditions as much as the Grinch and Rudolph.
No, this ogre is mean and horrible. Worse than the Grinch. Worse than Scrooge. Bigger than Rudolph's abominable Snowman. Worse than the nuts out there trying to put up signs to quiet us Christians about Christmas!
This ogre is real. He tries to eat up and devour my joy. He is sneaky...I don't know he is there until it is too late. He may one day sneak up on me at the Christmas treat table...where he helps me eat too much of those goodies. The next day he is lurking about at the store, where I loose control and want to buy too much! Where is Dave Ramsey when you need him? That big ugly sneak (The ogre not Dave Ramsey) will even sneak up and steal my time with my family and friends. He steals it, by convincing me that it is my right for something. My right to be on time. My right to have nothing but joy at Christmas! (Where is that in the Christmas Bill Of Rights?)
The truth is this is sometimes a hard part of the year. For some, we will miss those not with us this year. For some we will not be able to provide the gifts we could last year. For some, it is a reminder of a toxic past. The song "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" is ringing as true this year as it did when it was written during the Civil War.
That old ogre loves to trick us into riding the "Bi-polar Express." Up the high hills of joy only to avalanche down into a hole of sadness the next minute.
However, I have found a way to slay this ogre. Yes, it helps to think of the true meaning of Christmas. But I found in my life, that although that wounds him deeply it doesn't slay him. He will come back. This year, I am going to focus not on the manger as much as I am the cross. Not the stable but the Savior.
God dwells in the praise of His people! So I will level off this Bi-polar Express by praising Jesus not the season.
This time of year we will all be let down by either family, friends or just plain ole disappointment.
The ogre can only exist when I focus on myself. He is slain every time I focus on Christ.
It's not about Christmas! It is about Jesus!
Think of Him and slay you a ogre!
6 comments:
Oh girl, I LOVE this post. Love the way you put our focus on the cross! :)
The BI-Polar express! Oh Pamela! I love it.
A wise person once told me only do what you want to do at Christmas. You don't have to do everything. Keep it simple. Don't have Martha expectations - keep it Mary simple.
You'll be blessed. Don't let that grinch steal your Christmas!
This was a great post! You should see about getting it published somewhere for next years season! It's a message I think everyone can relat to and your anaolgies are great.
Be blessed,
Sonya
Oh Boy...I know this Ogre. Loved every word of this and I've been in all those battles.
A winner!!!
Love this post!
Although the bi-polar express chases me around all year, at Christmas it is usually parked right in front of my house with its whistles blaring.
I did knock him down a few notches this year. I usually give homemade treats AND presents to everyone in the family, ie-grandparents, nieces, nephews, in-laws, out-laws, neighbors and friends. I told almost everyone this year that although I will be making the treats, I am cutting back drastically this year and am not going to be able to buy individual gifts for all. I asked them to please not buy for me either. Funny thing is, they were as relieved as I was. I told grandparents that it would be wonderful if they still got something for the grandkids but with families getting bigger and bigger, let the adults just enjoy the time together-stress free (well, as stress free as it can be when the whole family gets together).
Another thing we do at my in-laws is everyone buys a Christmas ornament, decoration, candy or something like that with a $5.00 maximum. Then we have what I believe is called a Chinese Gift Exchange (hope that isn't "politically" incorrect). It's alot of fun, lasts longer than everyone ripping open gifts at once and everyone goes home happy.
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