OK, OK, this is not actually what I, nor Kip, think of Christmas. But Kip’s face in this photo is so irresistibly disdainful, what else could I do?

So far our weekend has consisted of work (Saturday), Christmas shopping (Saturday at Costco, Sunday at Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Ross and Marshalls) and a worship and prayer service at church, where Trin shared a poem he was commissioned to write last week. I’d like to share the poem with you here:

Keeping Christ in Christmas
By Trinity Powells © 2007
It was without much thought that I began this journey
Because to tell what Christmas means seemed like an easy task
A Savior in a manger, Christ is born, I mean, what more could the assignment ask?
But as I sat down to write, closing my eyes to find peace and the voice within
I found silence, but no peace, and as for a voice, all fell silent
Christmas, Christmas, I tried to will the Nativity scene from my pen
Nothing, absolutely nothing, not one drop of inspiration
Then my mind began to wander, I had to go shopping, buy presents, my thoughts traveling down a very long list
Then an errant thought found its mark “presents, so many presents, but so few acknowledge His”
I paused, a profound thought, and its truth I couldn’t miss
Because all over the world many people would be receiving gifts, but why not His?
From Christmas to xmas, the world’s been so quick to cross out Christ
Often forgetting it was Christ who was quick to the cross so we might have life
An ungrateful bunch at this time of year, with visions of sugar plums dancing through our heads
Never thinking twice of the depressed millions having thoughts of how they would be better off dead
We think we’ve learned our lesson, like Scrooge restored by the spirits of future, present and past
But what about the restoring Spirit that’s the same yesterday, today and forever, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last
We watch movies like “A Christmas Story,” but shouldn’t a “Christmas” story somehow include Christ?
And forget about “A Miracle on 34th Street,” what about the miracle born in Bethlehem on that one starry night?
My mind reeled with these questions, and a desperate sadness added its weight
How has Christmas lost Christ? And what kind of world would embrace this fate?
I sat silent, listening, but God has a habit of being silent when He wants us to think
So I thought, and then I smiled, because I had finally made the link
This world had long lost God, remember Adam and Eve and that snake?
Our most precious gift forfeited, because we were more focused on what we could have rather than what it would take
So for that reason God hatched a plan, to restore to man what was once lost
He gave of Himself, because He loves us, and without any regard for the cost
The gift we had squandered, which so many continue to do to this day
He gave us gift wrapped in swaddling cloth, so that all might be saved
This is what Christmas is all about, a celebration of renewed hope
The assurance of salvation, the great promise of which the prophets wrote
A gift I now share with you, you see, because sharing is the key
To keep Christ in Christmas, we must be willing to tell others what we believe

There is so much in this poem that reflects the dissonance we’ve been feeling over what has morphed into “the holidays.” The holiday called Thanksgiving devoid of gratitude, and instead instilled with anxiety — what to cook, how to get there, where to go for the best Black Friday sale. Christmas, that is no longer about a miracle but is instead about finding the perfect gift — over and over and over again. I haven’t been celebrating Christmas that long, since I grew up in a religion that technically does not recognize Dec. 25 as Christ’s birthday. But in the few years that I’ve observed the holiday, the frenzy over gifts — what to get for others and what you might receive in return — really clashes with what I feel, in my heart, what the holiday should be about.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the poem by my genius husband and wish you a Christmas that is more about joy and peace than sales and gifts. And as a bonus Christmas gift to you, please enjoy this other photo of Kip.

Merry Christmas!