most wonderful time of the year

How many times have we been told, and how many times have we heard the song?  One ought to consider, is it just a slogan to help those of us who live in winter climates? Is the meaning  regardless of what you think or feel, frostbite and hypothermia are valuable teachers?  Once when complaining about winter weather, someone said “Pastor if you are going to live here you have to embrace winter.”  Embrace it I did, I even bought snow shoes!  It was good advice, no amount of grumbling is going to change the weather!  We spend a good deal of time sulking over things we have little to no control over.  Merchants have certainly turned this time of year to their advantage.  Shopping seems to be the reason for the season.  We watch television reports of shoppers fighting each other for items that are in short supply.  We have witnessed video reports of shoppers being trampled by the onslaught of folks stampeding toward bargains.  When caught between a shopper and a bargain, you would do well to take cover.  Perhaps it is the most wonderful time of the year for music lovers.  There appears to be no shortage of vintage songs to be sung, choirs to be joined and musicals to perform in or to sit back and enjoy.  The music of the season is an industry all by itself.  What makes it the most wonderful time of the year for you?  Family time?  There is nothing like being able to reconnect with family and friends.  This time of the year certainly is a great time to travel and get together with our loved ones.  Nostalgia works its magic this time of year.  For many of us, we reminisce and muse over the “good old days.”  We remember presents given and received, meals enjoyed and the folks who have left this world who at one time were central to our Christmas celebrations.  For me I like all of the things I have mentioned and most everything that has to do with this time of year.  Gifts, food, music, traditions, family, decorations, friends and so many more, but yet the reason still seems unanswered.

The real reason this is the most wonderful time of the year is Jesus!!  A child is born!  A Son is given!  A Savior Is Come!  It is a wonderful time of the year when we remember we are not alone.  God cares about us and is interested in us, everyone of us!  The small and the tall, the black and the white, the liberal and the conservative, the poor and the rich.  The outcast and the upperclass.  No one escapes His notice or concern. You matter because God has not left us alone, but has provided the way for us to be changed from the inside out.  We do not have to strive to be better or pretend we are something that we aren’t.  His Son changes us and even when we fail and mess up He offers us love, understanding and forgiveness.  So if you really want to know the real reason for the saying that it is indeed  them most wonderful time of the year, Jesus is the reason that it is the most wonderful time of the year!

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