It's Time to Go, Go, Go!

Christmas-time can be a very complicated and hectic time of the year.  We feel a need to decorate everything.  We put lights, wreaths, and bows on our house.  We put big air-filled decorations in our yard.  We put antlers on our cars (I don't, but I know those who do).  We put trees in our living rooms, candles in the kitchen, and trinkets on every empty surface of the house.  We also feel a need to shop.  We feel a need to buy gifts for our children, our spouses, our parents, our grandparents, our friends, our neighbors, our children's teachers, our children's friends, our mailman, our trashmen, our auto mechanic, and the greeters at Walmart.  We feel the need to make contact with those we know and associate with.  We send cards to business associates.  We send cards to family members.  We send cards to our good friends.  We send cards to people who don't even care about getting our cards.  We feel the need to party and gain weight.  We have work parties where we will eat.  We have school parties where we will eat.  We have Sunday School parties where we will eat.  We have family gatherings where we will really eat!  We feel a need to travel.  We travel to see our parents.  We travel to see our spouse's parents.  We travel to see our kids.  We travel to see our grandparents.  We travel to see our siblings.  And some travel to get as far away from all these individuals as possible.  Doesn't it seem rather ironic that all of this frenetic activity started with an event that took place in a small stable in a small village called Bethlehem?  Maybe the shepherds had it right.  Maybe instead of trying to pack so much into such a short time frame, we should spend more time on our knees before Jesus.