Our daughter, Lillie is now about 2 and a half years old - which means this will be her third Christmas holiday that she has experienced in her whole life. Which (unsurprisingly) is our third Christmas as parents. But this one has been a little different because now Lillie is beginning to comprehend things much more clearly. That means fun things like presents, traditions, decorations, meals, etc. It’s also a very sobering reality because I am beginning more and more to feel the weight of introducing my daughter to Jesus.

If you’ve read to this point and are not a parent, I’m asking you to keep reading because while this post comes from the heart of a parent and will undoubtedly apply directly to parenting, it’s also aimed at anyone who follows Jesus.

When talking about Christmas with my daughter, I find myself wanting so badly to focus on the worldly side of things like the gifts and lights. And while those things are good and have their place, they are not ultimate - Jesus is. For those who have been there, you know that explaining the Christmas story to a toddler is no easy task: they get distracted, they have difficulty understanding, they get bored, etc. And while I am tempted to get frustrated with her for those things, I realize that I am no different than her when it comes to fixing my mind on Christ during Christmas or any time of year for that matter. The distractions of a toddler can seem so obvious to us, while we remain oblivious to our own distractions and temptations. The inability for a toddler to focus on the Christmas story can frustrate us while we are perfectly content in our own spiritual dryness and monotony.

So now, in my efforts to make sure my daughter knows the main meaning of Christmas, I am pleading with myself to do the same. In my desire for her to know and worship Jesus, I am seeking to stir my own soul to deeper knowledge and worship. Leading my family to the manger is proving to be one of the most humbling journey’s of my life because as a pastor, I ‘know’ the story so well, but I far too often lack in my awe and wonder of it all.

There have been small moments when I’ve wondered if we shouldn’t strip away all the ‘other’ stuff during Christmas (the myriad of gifts, stockings, mistletoe, trees, etc), and just simply place a manger scene in the home to fix our minds on what is most important. But then again, I so desperately want my child (and also myself) to know that “every good and perfect gift comes from above” (James 1:17). I want her to know that we get to enjoy the common graces of the Christmas holidays because of the inexpressible gift of the baby in a manger. I want to do all of the things Christmas has to offer and let her know that all of it - yes, all of it - is just a shadow of the real thing.

So drink the hot chocolate (or egg nog), open the gifts, go see the lights, and remind yourself, and your kids that these things are just meant to be arrows that point us to the heart of our Savior who was born. When you find yourself in joy and wonder over the earthly parts of Christmas, remember that Heaven came down to earth and gave Himself as The Greatest Wonder in the Universe. Read the Christmas books, but meditate on the first Christmas story. Take pictures with Santa, but remember that the true Judge of our hearts came to give us a new one. Celebrate anew your Christmas traditions and then remind yourself that the story you hear each year is still greater and deeper than you could ever know - and rejoice in it once more.