How to Avoid Being a Grinch

by Heather Myer

Plastic pine trees hit Sears early in August. Borders promoted the new Josh Groban holiday CD in September. Wal-Mart sold ornaments and holiday lights in October. Halloween had not fully been displayed before tree toppers made their grand appearance. Can Christmas really be considered seasonal when merchandising is promoted for 1/3 of the year? Does the hustle and bustle preceding December take away from the special feelings and fond memories tied to the 25th? The early sales of wreaths and jingle bells have made Scrooges out of many of us.

End of the year shopping can be a rather unpleasant experience. Cart fights, deep sighs, and angry glares are often arise from weary shoppers even before they enter Price-Cutter. Virtues such as patience and kindness are forgotten after lengthy quests for a parking spot at the Battlefield Mall. Does avoiding tackling wish lists until the day after Thanksgiving increase your enjoyment of Target? Do long lines while listening to endless renditions of Hanson, Chipmunks, and Mariah Carey singing carols sprinkle extra magic on sprees at Toys-R-Us?

Allow yourself to slow down and rest for a moment. Consider all that you are busily preparing. Santa is irrelevant. Iridescent plastic trees that change colors are needless. For now, stockings, bows, bells, mistletoe, and holly can remain unhung. Cider, cocoa, and eggnog are best unsipped. Leave the feasts unplanned. Let the toys and clothing remain unwrapped. For this moment, do not be concerned over things, sights, sounds, smells, or tastes. These are meaningless. Sweep all of these distractions under the tree skirt. They are unimportant. Instead, focus your mind on the birth of Christ. Christmas is in remembrance of our Lord, our Promise, our Redeemer, our King. Allow your heart to be renewed and your spirit refreshed in the freedom that we have as believers. We have the promise of eternal life through our Savior. It is in remembrance of his birth that we are preparing to rejoice with family and dear friends. In celebration of God’s greatest gift, perhaps we can be a bit kinder to strangers and show love for one another. Park at the back of the lot to allow the elderly a more convenient parking spot. Make eye contact with the Salvation Army bell ringer. Smile at a stranger and let them pass you in the aisle. Allow an anxious businessman to go before you in the checkout line. Hold a door open for a mother struggling with a cart full of children and bags. While decorations and holiday cards can wait, good will to others is something that should not be confined to the 31 days of December.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace, good will toward men!” —Luke 2:13–14