You.

"The true celebration of Christmas is not the birth of Christ.  The true celebration is the birth of Christ for you." 

--Rev. Matthew Ruesch

By now you're probably getting tired.  By now you've probably made 115 trips to Target, baked 47 casseroles and signed 715 Christmas cards.  By now you've moved your Elf so many times you can't keep track of where you've already hidden him.  Christmas music on the radio has become less of a novelty and more of a challenge in avoiding the Christmas Shoes song. 

Christmas is starting to wear on you.

And then someone somewhere (maybe this blog) encourages you to slap on a smile, keep on going and remember the real reason for the season....Jesus of course!  But what if that isn't the whole truth? 

I could feel myself settling into a similar mid-December slump when I read an article this weekend by Rev. Matthew Ruesch, a missionary for the Lutheran church.  "We are the reason," he writes.  YOU.  ME.  It's us.  We're the reason there's Christmas.  From somewhere deep within myself I heard an echo of the word.

"YOU.  For you, daughter." 

How had I missed something so obvious, so important?  These words that changed my holiday.  And like the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes that day, I felt Christ settle somewhere inside of me I'd didn't even know I was missing Him. 

Christmas is not just the celebration of a great man sent by a loving God.  It's the celebration of God's gift TO US.  We don't need Christmas to remind us that Jesus came.  We need Christmas to remember that God sent Him FOR US. 

God loves us, friends.  More than we can ever possibly understand.  More than time or earthly wisdom has ever been able to prove.  If you do anything to celebrate this Christmas season, don't do it because God needs it or wants it.  Don't even do it because you're trying to spread Christmas cheer.  Do it because you need to remember how much God loves YOU.  He'll take care of it from there.

You are the reason, friend, and you always will be. 

XOXO...Kelly