Behold!!

I'm doing a lovely Advent art challenge from Claudia Love Mair on the word behold. I was really trying to think Advent, but this beautiful stream is what kept drawing me. Perhaps it's because in this season of crazy, I crave peace, and the peace of this scene soothes me. Not that it has anything to do with beholding, of course. Unless I think about all the beholding we do in this season. If you look at many of the houses in the neighborhoods, and in all the stores, you'd think that someone vomited Christmas all over the place.

I don't think it's any different if you compare Christians and non-Christians. Just because it says, "Jesus," doesn't mean it's any less noisy. The noise of the holidays starts earlier and earlier, and I was thinking the other day that the longer we draw it out, the less special the decorations seem to me. A friend of mine likes a particular song, but it's such a special song that she hates to hear it very often. She says that when you play it too much, it becomes common, and when it becomes common, it becomes less special. That's how I feel about everything Christmas. I don't feel like Christmas decorations are very special. Or very honoring to Christ. Yes, I'm even talking about those plastic baby Jesuses you see in manger scenes. Really? Does beholding that draw me closer to God? Not really.

That's not to say I'm anti-Christmas or even anti-decorations. We just pulled a huge tub out of the attic to dig out our Advent wreath to light our candles and say our blessing as a family. I think we have about five more tubs full of Christmas junk to put out. And yes, Santa still comes to our house, and we're participating in our church's Advent Conspiracy project to build a well for a sister church in Rwanda. But I'll be honest. Those things don't draw me as close to Christ as a peaceful spot far away from the craziness, a place where I can be still, and BEHOLD!

I hope this holiday season, you take a moment to find the place where you feel closest to God, and just sit there- away from what everyone else tells us is supposed to represent the season, and find peace.