How many "Merry Christmas"'s have I heard this year? And I have replied back in kind. Although I don't feel particularly merry it IS the appropriate response. No one wants to hear about the pressure and stress that the season brings to most people. No one wants to discuss that the real meaning of Christmas is lost on a world filled with the need to provide the "right" gift and meet everyone's expectations for a perfect holiday. Many will attend Christmas Eve services for the experience. And I'm afraid they will leave those services and wake up on December 26 no more changed then they were before. Oh, I know. I've already chided myself on being a "Debbie Downer"...you don't have to do it. But I think I speak for many when I long for a simple, humble, stripped-down Christmas. A manger filled with hay Christmas. A Christmas that is the beginning of Hope.
