Loving My Actual Christmas: An Advent Devotional By Alexandra KuykendallUzorak

Advent Week Two: Love

Sometimes I equate loving Christmas with experiencing the best Christmas ever. But coming off a week of dealing with the reality of hope and expectation I recognize those feelings and call them out. I realize that loving my actual Christmas has to do with celebrating in the midst of the grief or the tight budget or the circumstances I wouldn’t hope for.

Love as a noun can be described as strong affection or liking, something that elicits enthusiasm, God’s affection for humanity, and even a score of zero (tennis, anyone?). If I am to hold love, this is what it would look like: affection, enthusiasm, and even a score of zero—as in, maybe I won’t get much done on my to-do list.

We read in 1 John that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He defines it. He holds it. And the most famous Bible verse of all, John 3:16: For God so loved the world . . . he sent a baby. When I held my babies for the first time, I knew I was experiencing the tangible miracle of new life. But this baby was different. He was God himself wrapped in the clothes of skin and bone. 

And yet in the throes of the Christmas shopping, baking, and driving, my enthusiasm for Christmas gets tarnished. My “strong affection or liking” for this holiday begins to disappear. People I love are all around me and driving me crazy.

So I will take my cue for what love looks like from the other definitions my dictionary offers: To show affection to the people right in front of me. To experience God’s love for me. To stay more focused on enjoying the season than getting the to-do list done. 

I do not want to resent what I cannot have. I want to focus on how God has shown me love through the gifts he has already provided. I resolve to celebrate what I am grateful for. To celebrate the Person who is Christmas. My relationship with the baby in the manger is a love story that I can cling to. And when I do, I may just love all of the hoopla that surrounds this huge annual birthday party a little more too. 

What if you got nothing done on your to-do list this week except for loving people? How would your stress level feel? How would your spirit feel?