We Need a Little Christmas

Usually at this time of year, a rather heated debate takes place for many, and it has nothing to do with politics. 

The question is: when is it the “right” time to decorate for Christmas? 

Some believe November 1st is the beginning of the Christmas season, while others hold fast to waiting until after Thanksgiving (for those in the United States) as the better option.

I don’t think there is a “right” time or a “wrong” time. I think it makes sense for each person and family to do what suits their lives, their schedules, their traditions.

My husband, Jon, and I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving before we deck the halls, and it’s sometimes been a struggle for me to wait that long. Other times, we don’t get things going until the beginning of December. Which I know for some is very late!

This year was feeling a little different compared to most others. In late October, I told Jon, “I think I want to decorate much earlier than usual for Christmas this year.” To which he responded, “Because we need a little Christmas?”

The last half of this year has been interesting. We've navigated some difficult situations. In addition to the “typical” difficulties we all face in our lives, we’ve experienced the tragic death of a friend and a rupture in a significant family relationship.

It’s sad, and it’s been difficult - to say the least. And so, I thought maybe the warm glow of sparkly Christmas lights throughout our house would bring some cheer. Digging through childhood ornaments and other nostalgic decor would bring a little joy. I had started thinking about the exact day that I could begin, and in my mind, I was planning where “old” things would go and what “new” things could be added this year. 

I was looking forward to it.

And then God caught my attention.

Why do you want to decorate early this year? he asked.

Because I need it, Lord.

That’s it. That’s all it took.

He had my attention. And he began to redirect it.

The part of his question that stood out to me most is the word “why.”

Why did I feel like I needed it? Why sparkly lights and nostalgia? What did I think it was going to do for me? What was I asking it to do for me?

What was I really looking for?

And since he had my attention, that’s the question I asked God…What am I looking for? What does my heart need from you?

Comfort. Care. Consolation.

My heart has been aching, and I began to look for things that I believed would make me feel better. Things that would bring comfort.

But when God asked me why I wanted to decorate early this year, I realized what I was actually doing was looking for relief rather than restoration (Thanks to John and Stasi Eldredge and their team at Wild at Heart for that distinction!)

Sparkly Christmas lights and all the other holiday decor do bring a bit of cheer and joy to our home. Since I was a young child, I’ve loved the Christmas season and all that it entails. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 

And there’s nothing wrong with decorating at whatever point in the year you choose to decorate.

But I was looking to something other than God to do for me what only God can do. I was looking for consolation and restoration from something that was never designed to provide that for me. And had I gone ahead with my early decorating plan, I most likely would have discovered that after all the decorations were in place and sparkling away, my need for comfort, care, and consolation would still be there...asking to be filled.

I do need a little Christmas…but maybe not right this very minute.

And so, I’ll continue to ask God to be my source of comfort, care, and consolation.

And I’ll ask my Christmas decorations to just be sparkly.

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