peace.

Christmas is such a bittersweet time. It’s a time of warm traditions, fun gatherings, and peppermint mochas, but it’s also a time of stressful gift giving, fretting over whether you’ve spent enough or too much on all of your friends and family, and, in my case, trying to figure out how much time I’ll be spending in each place between Christmas and New Years.

There’s not much in the world that I like more than sitting on my couch with only the lights of my Christmas tree lighting my apartment or baking Christmas cookies like the ones my family used to bake together every year when I was younger - and yes, of course we left them and a big glass of milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve. But it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the joy of buying cute cookie tins to fill with my gluten-filled creations and give to friends or chain-watching cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix, and - get ready because here comes the big ol’ Christmas cliche! - forget the true meaning of Christmas.

Peace is a word I often take for granted. I use it when I’m exasperatedly pleading for some "peace and quiet" when I visit my family and am woken up way too early by a crying niece, nephew(s), or all of the above. Sometimes it pops up when I encounter a particularly quiet night where it seems like you’re the only person within miles of the place you’re standing and looking up at a star-filled sky. But I rarely use the word "peace" at Christmastime, except maybe when I’m singing along to a Christmas carol or hymn and fail to even notice the word coming out of my mouth.

So it’s particularly nice this time of year, amidst the stress over locking down the perfect gifts, wondering if my credit card balance will ever reach zero again, constantly cursing my stomach (it hates me), and consistently failing to finalize my travel plans, to sit on my couch at night, glance up at my tree, and see this ornament that my eldest nephew painted and gave to me for Christmas five years ago. I’ve hung it on my tree every year since, and overlooked its significance every single one of those years. The peace of God is the true comfort at Christmastime. God is bigger than my credit card bill, He doesn’t care how much I spend on Christmas presents this year, and no matter how many days I spend on Long Island and how many days I spend in Carthage, He will certainly not love me any less.

SO. While the roads are filled with crazy, Christmas-obsessed drivers and the stores are crammed with grumpy, deal-seeking moms, aunts, and grandmas, be comforted in the promise that the birth of God’s Son brought to the world. Be joyful in this time of warm fires and twinkling Christmas lights that make the world pretty while we’re inundated with the cold and darkness that winters brings. And give thanks to God for these simple pleasures, for the comfort He gives, and for the promises He keeps.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen and Merry Christmas.