'Tis the Season

We've stuffed ourselves with turkey and now we're stuffing our cars with presents that we'll stuff under the tree.  Before we unwrap all those bright packages, we'll probably sit down to a nice meal and stuff ourselves with rich food once more.  Then, we'll stuff garbage sacks with torn wrapping paper and empty gift bags and cardboard boxes once all the presents have been opened.  Then, we'll stuff our closets and toy chests and drawers and garages and basements and who knows where all else with all our new stuff.  A few days later, we'll stuff our faces yet again as we snack our way into the New Year.

'Tis the season...

We're stuffed.
Our houses are stuffed.
Stuff is coming out of our ears.

The only thing that is empty is our wallets.
And our bank accounts.

Or is it?

What about our hearts?
Are they stuffed?
Shouldn't they be with all the joy and good tidings of the holidays?
Shouldn't they be with all the new toys and trinkets and clothes and cars and whatnot we just got?

But what if they're left empty too?
What if there's a hole in our heart that none of that stuff can fill?

You see, noTHING can fill that hole.

It's God-sized hole.
One only Jesus can fill.

As we stuff our faces and get new stuff, we tend to forget the REAL REASON FOR THE SEASON.
We forget that Christmas is about a tiny baby born in a manager over 2,000 years ago.
We forget that Christmas is about the hope and joy and peace that baby boy brought with Him to earth.
We forget that Christmas is about the presence of God, not presents under a tree.
We forget that Christmas is about the gift of salvation, not stuff.

Today, we finished Christmas shopping.
It only took us 3 days.  Granted, we had 3 children ages 4 and under with us, but still...
I added up how much we spent and was somewhat sickened at the grand total -- about $600!
And we didn't go overboard.  Really, we didn't!!!

Here's what we got:
*2 presents for my mom (can't say what they are because she might read the blog and I don't want to ruin the surprise for her)
*1 VERY simple present for my dad (a calendar with a picture of our girls for each month - I can say what we got him because he told me that's what he wanted and he doesn't really read my blog anyway)
*2 toy trucks for a cousin (part of a gift exchange we do with my husband's family, $10-$15 limit)
*Pokeman cards for a cousin (part of the gift exchange)
*Pokeman cards for another cousin (part of the gift exchange)
*Stocking stuffers for the 5 women in my husband's family ($10 total for all the gifts)
*Stocking stuffers for the 3 men in my husband's family ($15 total for all the gifts)
*Presents for the person I drew for the gift exchange for my husband's family ($50 limit)
*Presents for the person my husband drew for the gift exchange (another $50)
*Presents for our teenage niece ($30 total)
*Presents for our 3 girls
     -pajamas for each of them ($30 total)
     -sets of socks for each of them ($20 total)
     -sticker books for the 2 older girls ($2 total)
     -watercolor paint sets for the 2 older girls ($2 total)
     -toy balls for each of the older girls, because this is the toy they picked out! ($8 total)
     -diapers and wipes for the baby, because she's 2 weeks old and isn't going to remember her 1st Christmas and with 2 older sisters and lots of hand-me-downs doesn't really need anything given we have 12 - yes TWELVE - tubs of clothes and 2 rooms - yes TWO BIG ROOMS - full of toys and books galore ($20)
     -cardboard castle for all the girls to color and decorate and play with together ($15)
     -wooden letters to spell out each girl's name and paper to decorate them ($35)
*Ornaments for each girl to represent something they like/their personality this year ($50 total)
*Ornament for our family to represent us as a whole this year ($15)

And there you have it...$600!  Gone!  Just like that!

My husband and I didn't even buy presents for each other - we would rather save the money for a big vacation and enjoy each other's presence and the memories we will make as a family!

We didn't even buy toys for our 3 children, except for a football and ball with things in it that shake and make noise!  They already have toys coming out of their ears (and noses and eyes and mouths and every other place already).  We know the grandparents will buy them new toys.  We don't really have any more room for more toys.

I can't even begin to imagine how much we would have spent if we had bought each of the 3 girls even 1-2 new toys each.  Say we spent just $25 on each child, that's like ONE nice toy.  $75 more...gone!

It's not about the money.  Not really.  At least not this year.  In years past we would have never been able to afford this type of Christmas - simple as it is.  2 years ago, we were on WIC and wondering where in the world money was going to come from to pay our electric bill let alone put presents under the tree.  Thankfully, this year we are not strapped financially.  We are certainly counting our blessings and praising God for His abundant provision!

That doesn't mean we're running around filling our shopping carts up with stuff just because we can.  Yes, we can afford more this year, but that doesn't mean we have to get more.  Nor that we really want to.

I guess it's just not who we are.

The idea that we just spent $600 and still have money left in the bank blows my mind!  But, the reality that we could have spent so much more blows my mind even more!

We don't NEED anything more. We have so much already!!!  I am sitting here in my living room/dining room in our new house (I guess it's still new even though we moved in February and have lived here almost a year now) and still can't get my mind around the fact that we really do live here.  As I look around at my kitchen and into the play room and the door that leads to the basement and the stairs that go up to our bedrooms, I can't help but feel blessed.  And burdened at the same time.

Burdened with the reality that not everyone has it as good as we do.
Burdened with the truth that people are shivering in the freezing cold today, with no place to call home.
Burdened with the fact that so many kids won't have any presents this year, let alone a decent meal or clothes to keep them warm.
Burdened with the responsibility that I can and should do something about that.

And this is actually when I start to get excited about Christmas again!
All that shopping and getting of stuff drained me.
BUT, the idea of GIVING fills me up again.

It's not just about blessing others with stuff though.

Yes, we had fun picking out things to fill a shoebox for a little girl.  But, I am much more excited about the joy she will have as she opens that box and the hope it will bring as she will be given a Bible too and have the opportunity to learn about the best gift of all - a relationship with Jesus!

Yes, we have donated to some friends and various ministries they are involved in.  I am thrilled to be able to help "stuff a bus," bring some orphaned children into forever families, pay for a surgery, and ensure that a little boy has a Christmas he'll never forget.  In all these things, the best part is knowing that we shared the love of Jesus, that we filled someone's heart in a way that it can never be emptied.

After all, 'tis the season!