First Baptist Church of Herndon

Reconnecting with Christmas

Linda Soller | Dec 07, 2015

It took a while before I finally broke down and got my IPhone. In truth it took the desire to be able to Face Time my granddaughter to make me update my phone. Like everyone else I have officially become addicted to all the bells and whistles of feeling connected. So when I left my phone at home two days in a row, it was very unsettling. I actually sent emails to my daughters to let them know I didn’t have my phone and told them how they could reach me. There was no real reason they would need to know, I just felt disconnected.

Although the holidays can be truly exhilarating, for many they create a feeling of being disconnected. The birth of Jesus can get lost in the colorful sparkly world that is Santa, families may be spread out and too distant to visit, funds may not be available to join in the gift giving, and a person can be left standing there feeling a bit lost and alone. The question is, how do we reconnect to Christmas?

Our church is going to look into the Advent Conspiracy this year. We didn’t come up with it, and there is a web site if you want to investigate. When the Advent Conspiracy was introduced to us, I really connected to the part about spending less, but giving more. How can that be, you ask? It comes down to what you are giving, to whom, and understanding the concept of sharing. Example: I may routinely give each of my children three gifts. But do they need the items I give, or do I struggle to dream up one more thing so they appear to have plenty? This year my approach will be different. Fewer gifts to open, not spending money just to be coming up with a gift, and giving differently. Those different gifts will include donations to help people who are less fortunate, and things that are personal, like my time to make their life easier, or maybe something homemade. I am actually excited about it, and wonder why it took someone else saying it out loud for me to catch on.

In our faith this is a time to reflect. We need to focus on the birth of Jesus. We need to pray for the world. We need to ask God for the gift of understanding of His intentions for us. If you never or rarely go to church it’s a time to join in the worship, because there will be others there like yourself. If you go all the time, allow yourself to absorb the reassurance of Christmas. Spend less money seeking things, and give more time to your faith. Come through the doors of your church and reconnect to Christmas.  P.S. – you should turn your cell phone off!

Merry Christmas :o)  Linda

A special greeting to my best friend Stacey and our long standing friendship connection!