I want to disappoint my kids.
This will be easy and hard at the same time.
Easy because we can’t possibly get them EVERYTHING they
want.
Hard because they will get much more than they deserve.
I mean, expectations of under-20-year-olds skyrocket this
time of year. This is due, in
large part, to the catalogs, which come
parading through our front door
flashing pictures of items that my daughters now think they must have. Combine this with the “magic” of the
season and kids start to think anything is possible around the holidays. So, my kids might think that even
if there is no real Santa, they’re
sure to get a hefty haul of dazzling toys and clothes they’ve spied in catalogs
and store windows because the “magic” of the season will somehow seep into
their parent’s minds and make them spend much more than what they’ve got…
 |
| Here's what I hate: catalogs! |
The problem is, they might be right. Something does make us all go a little
nutty when it comes to Christmas gift giving and preparations. Even adults have expectations of how the
holidays should go. As we’ve
“matured,” our desires have shifted from toys to snapshot-worthy events.
Here’s a glimpse at my mental list of what I want out of
this holiday season:
1. Cute family
pic of us selecting our Christmas tree from the neighborhood lot. You know, like the one we got last year
all
bundled up with lights gleaming in the background. Problem: this year it was freakishly
warm when we went to get our tree and so we are not bundled up wintery-cute. Also, it wasn’t night, so no gleaming
lights. Plan=shattered!—Oh wait—we
did get a great tree and no one was injured and the girls didn’t even fight or
irritate me in the process. Check! |
| This was last year. Love! |
 |
| You can make them dress up, but you can't make them smile. |
2. Solemn times
of reading scripture and lighting advent candles. This is a new desire and I’ve done nothing about
executing said event. Also, my
children don’t do “solemn” very well.
Plan=in progress,,,but most likely will be messed up somehow.
 |
| Several years ago. One of the first times I let them do their own icing... |
3. Baking time
with my girls happily helping me in the kitchen (but not fighting or fidgeting
or making messes…totally realistic, right?)
4. Pictures of
the girls decorating the tree. (I
tried for these, but they turned out more like “action shots” at a basketball
game.)
See what I mean?
We don’t have to be kids to have great expectations for the
holidays. Our desires might not be
for material things, but they are even more difficult to fulfill because they
rely on the cooperation of other people, which is often a recipe for disaster.
Many of us with fly through this holiday season in a frenzy,
all the time chasing a quiet moment by the picture-perfect fire when everyone
is dressed perfectly and quietly nibbling homemade fudge while Dad reads the
birth story in Luke.
We are sure to be disappointed.
But, that’s okay.
Because the best is yet to come!
As my pastor, Lloyd Shadrach, put it, “it’s the stuff that
is missing, wrong, and lost that reminds us of Who will truly fill us.”
That’s why I hope my kids are disappointed this
Christmas. I mean, yes, I hope
they’re grateful for all the great gifts they’re sure to receive, but I also
hope that they realize that they didn’t get everything they wanted. I hope they look around at the pile of
new “stuff” and know, deep down, that it won’t ever fill them up.
And when we are disappointed, I hope we will lean in to hear
the whisper of the One who will return.
And in those “magic” moments when things do fall into place and our joy
overflows at the sight of our kids sweetly reading by the glow of twinkle
lights, I pray that we will thank the Joy Giver for this sweet taste of what is
to come.
For a child has been born—for us!
the
gift of a son—for us!
He’ll take over
the
running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong
God,
Eternal Father,
Prince
of Wholeness.
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