Christmas Can Wait

If you are anything like us, you may be starting to count the days and hours until Christmas and wondering how you’ll ever get everything done. It seems like that’s exactly what we end up doing each year. Some folks start early and leave very little for December, but many of us are scrambling just about now. Of course, most of the distractions and pressure related to Christmas have very little to do with the real meaning of Christmas. Worst of all, in that mad rush to get everything checked off of our lists we often do the spirit of the season a disservice. We cut people off on the freeway, we have altercations in the parking structure, and we walk right past countless folks who may truly need to be cared for. Indeed, statistically, the holidays represent a period of increased stress and depression, even boasting a much higher suicide rate than other times of the year. I’m so worried about my own Christmas that it’s easy to forget about others who are outside my intimate group of family and friends. However, aren’t love and forgiveness the whole point? A few years ago we had a December which seemed to be flooded with people who needed us, needed someone, just to help them get through it. The following poem grew out of those precious weeks, when we learned that sometimes there are more important issues at hand than our own selfish preparations. As you prepare for the holidays, I offer it for perspective. Oh, and have a merry Christmas.

Christmas Can Wait
We’ve been wanting to get the cards done
And have the shopping out of the way
We’ve been meaning to decorate the tree
But things just kept getting in the way
It seems a neighbor, a friend, or a relative
Would call with some special need
Which was greater, by far, than ours
So our Christmas plans would concede
While the shopping days were slipping by
And the holiday crunch drew near
The Christmas pressure began to mount
As it seems to most every year
Then we realized maybe the hurting folks
That God kept sending our way
Needed Christmas even more than we did
Just like those on the first Christmas day
When God reached out to this hurting world
And, because of His love for you and me
He sent His only Son to suffer and die
On a cross of wood, at Calvary
God wasn’t too busy, distracted or tired
To carry out His wonderful plan
He sent us a Savior on Christmas day
As a gift to each woman and man
So our shopping and Christmas plans can wait
Now that we finally understand
We can’t turn away those who need God’s love
For we are His voice and His hand
By Frank Carpenter ©