Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!

Last night I sat and watched the majority of A Charlie Brown Christmas on ABC. I adore Peanuts and Charlie Brown holiday movies are the absolute best! But this year, it actually got me thinking beyond the cuteness of the movie and to the heart of what that 30 minute clip was all about...the true meaning of Christmas. The line in the movie where Charlie Brown screams, "CAN'T ANYONE TELL ME WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?!" and little Linus and his blue blankie spotlight the Christmas story just made my heart melt.

And, that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about.
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In the past few weeks I have been enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I've spent oodles of money on gifts for loved ones (possibly more than I should have), I've been in/out of the mall and other stores making sure to check everyone off my list, and I see so much commercialism around me (and, of course, I buy right into it). The gimmicks, the sales, the price markdowns, the lines of a hundred small children waiting to be terrified by a an overweight man in a red suit with a white beard, the lines of anxious/angry moms and dads standing in line at the register trying to make sure their children have all the best toys this year....it's overwhelming. Christmas is about so much more...so much more.

Christmas is about a tiny baby Jesus brought into this world to die for our sins. About a child born in a manger--a trough--a cow's food bowl because there was no room for his parents in the inn...turned away and left to give birth in a stable (just a fancy word for barn), admidst the animals. Now, if that's not a picture of holiness, I'm not sure what is! Here we are, hustling about to buy all these wonderful gifts, the latest gadgets, the most up-to-date fashions...to celebrate the birth of a baby in a barn. They had next to nothing. Humble servants of God, blindly following Him to a brand new world of parenting JESUS. Could you imagine the overwhelming responsibility of that?! 

Instead of celebrating that Holy night when Divinity entered this world on the floor of a stable, to lay in a manger with thoughts of peace, feeding the hungry, helping those in need....we find ourselves being greedy, nasty, and hateful just to find the best deal, get the biggest and best gifts, and outdo those around us. Can you please, please, please tell me how that makes sense? I love this little picture/saying: Are you part of the inn crowd or are you one of the stable few?

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I think this little gem of a statement speaks volumes. Does it spark a flame in you like it did in me? Brings it all back around to the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about toys, games, and Santa Claus. It's about the birth of a Savior. That, Charlie Brown, is the meaning of Christmas.

I hope if you're wondering around in a depressed funk, like Charlie Brown, that this post brings you light and peace and joy. If not, I hope that it inspires you to find those things in Christmas. Find an Angel Tree and buy a little child a toy, some clothes, some food. Find a family on your street or in your neighborhood that just can't quite make ends meet and give them a boost up--leave a box of groceries on their front steps, put a gift card in their mailbox, offer to babysit (free of charge) a few nights a week so mom/dad don't have to pay for daycare.... Offer a smile to those poor cashiers that have dealt with hateful grinches all day long. Really, it's the simple things.

Find your Charlie Brown tree and decorate it with warmth and love. That always makes me feel better. Decking the halls and warming up the house with trees and snowmen and my favorite little nativity scene (pictures, soon!). Do whatever it is that makes you think of Christmas and brings warmth and light to your heart. But most of all, remember that Jesus is at the heart of it all.

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Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!