STXWM Blog

I know some ladies who live for the Holidays. You know the ones who plan out their home decor with themes and color schemes. Every spot in the house must match the appropriate holiday and colors. If this is you, awesome. I’ll give you my number.

I, however am not one of those women. I am not a decorator, especially when it comes to the holidays. I might strategically place a knick knack here or there, but I don’t really plan these things out. I mean, we almost didn’t even have a Christmas tree this year.

It was 9 days until Christmas, when we finally put up our tree. We decided to do a small one because we just moved a few months ago and we still have things in boxes, and like I said, “9 days until Christmas” doesn’t seem like a lot of time to decorate a big tree and enjoy it.

But we got it done. It looks so pretty and now that Christmas is over, I feel as though I can relax a little. Oh except, now I need to come up with my New Year’s resolutions.

Oh dear, where to begin…well I do know one resolution that I didn’t really keep the way that I had hoped- spending more time with Jesus.

It seemed like such an easy goal, but the truth is I’ve struggled. It’s easy when I can just pull him out of a box when I need something, or I realize I haven’t spoken to him in a while. I need to make sure I check him off my list. The only thing is he should be more than just a check mark.

One of our favorite traditions is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas while decorating the tree. My husband and I started this tradition the first year we were married and continued it with our young daughter.

But this time around when we were decorating the tree, I wasn’t really paying attention to the movie. I’m not even sure I saw but a few scenes. However, I did make sure to have my whole family put down the Christmas lights and the ornaments as we listened and watched Linus’ speech about what Christmas is all about.

He quotes Luke 2:10-12

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The reason I wanted to watch this scene was because I saw on a reel that while Linus is quoting this powerful scripture, he drops his blanket as he’s saying, “fear not.”

If you’re familiar with his character, he and his blanket do everything together. He’s not one to let go of it lightly. You see, for Linus, his blanket is his security.

The imagery of him dropping his blanket and not picking it up until he’s finished quoting the Christmas Story is a beautiful reminder that Jesus is our Prince of Peace. For a split second, we can see that Linus couldn’t care less about his blanket, because he knows the importance of the story.

My family and I went through a lot of hurt this last year. There was so much uncertainty, and healing from past relationships. There were days when it wouldn’t bother me and days when it would tear me up inside. Just when I thought I was over a situation, something would trigger the hurt and pain all over again.

Many times, we go through difficult trials in our lives, and we hold on to that hurt, shame, loneliness, or anger instead of holding onto our Savior.

I would find myself holding on to these things. It was as if I was walking alone, when I didn’t have to. The reality is, Jesus doesn’t sit in a box, waiting for us to open it and pull him out. No, he’s always right there.

The angels, shepherds and wise men, made a choice to worship Jesus. In fact, we can learn that it took the wise men close to 2 years to even find him. This must have taken a lot of preparation and dedication to pull off. They obviously had to leave their homes, families and put their trust in the Lord.

It took them 2 years to find Jesus, when I have the privilege of knowing him every day. Then why am I allowing myself to continue in this pattern? I’m not spiritually growing, while my hurt and anger continue to grow. I was ready to drop my blanket.

As I was reading Luke 2, I began to realize that Jesus was born in the middle of a filthy stable so that he could save a dying and broken world. He was born in a mess to clean up a mess, and I was a mess. If I’m honest with myself, I still am. But I’m learning to let go of things of the past, and to lean on him more.  

When it comes time to put the decorations away, I don’t want to add Jesus to the box. I want him to be the front and center of my life.

So, this coming year don’t make Jesus a check mark or a seasonal ornament. Keep him out of the box and make the choice to drop your blanket and worship him daily. 

Melinda Brown is a mother, co-pastor, entrepreneur, and now she can add author to her ever growing list of gifts. She and her husband, Jason, pastor Columbus Community Church in South East Texas and now, Melinda has agreed to come on board as one of our newest authors on the STXWM Blog Team. Her heart is to share the love of Jesus through her writing and to tell the world of the healing and comfort that can be found in a relationship with the Lord.