Christmas in July
by Cindy Allen
Before you groan too much, give me a chance to explain. I too am tired of Christmas in July. Goodness, it was 100 degrees last week in east Texas, I do not want to watch movies with Christmas trees and I do not want to purchase Christmas decorations. I don’t even want to think about purchasing Christmas gifts. I like to think about all of that when the weather is much cooler. But if you are a lover of Christmas in July, don’t let me rain on your parade. I hope you have a wonderful month! However, if you already have the bulk of your Christmas shopping done, well I just don’t know if we can be friends!
One evening, when I couldn’t find anything on my romance channel I wanted to watch because all the movies were snowy and jingly I began to think about this concept of them marketing Christmas really early. Then I thought about how I act around Christmas. How I am a little more chipper most days. I look for ways to make other people feel special. I greet strangers with a smile and a Merry Christmas. Even in all the craziness of the holiday season, I think most of us would agree we feel happy and we want to share that happy with others. We want then to know that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and the reason for our smile. I mean, we even have it on t-shirts.
What if we lived that way every month? What if greeting and genuinely smiling at others was my norm, not just my Thanksgiving to Christmas face? What if I went out of my way weekly or daily to let those around me know I care? What if I stopped at the food bank with a donation on a random Thursday in April? What if I invited someone to church on a regular Sunday instead of waiting for a special occasion to invite them?
The list could go on and on. Yes, Christmas is important. If Jesus wasn’t born into this world as a human, he wouldn’t have been able to live a perfect life and die as a sacrifice for our sins. But we don’t actually have to wait until the Christmas season to share that love with others.
July is over, but what if we make a concerted effort to do something Christmassy in August: give a thoughtful gift, reach out to a friend, have a dinner party. There is an old song that tells us, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Why limit it to a few weeks. Let’s let the joy of Christmas flow through us year-round.
It will take some effort; I mean life is happening at a crazy fast speed. Maybe put some thought into in and write some dates and activities on the calendar. How about finding a friend, sharing the vision with them and having an accountability partner. People around us are sad, lonely, hurting, and yes, lost. They need to feel loved, seen, understood. At Christmas we look at things a little differently, a little closer. We reach out to others more. Let’s not wait until Thanksgiving to start. Let’s start now, Christmas in August, September, October…
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your only begotten Son to live in this imperfect world for imperfect me. God, I want to live everyday in a spirit of gratitude and I want that spirit to flow through me and onto others I meet. Help me to shine my light for your honor and glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Scripture: Luke 2, James 2:14-26
Response: Spread some Christmas joy as you go along your way!
