Christmas Spirit

Christmas honestly just confuses me.

For the days from December 1 to December 25, everyone is nice and friendly and compassionate and filled with love, but as soon as it is December 26, it is like nothing ever happened.

Imagine if every single day we acted like it was December 18. Your neighbors would wave to you as you get into your cars. Your co-workers would be more willing to laugh at your bad jokes. Your teachers would be more compassionate when you fall asleep in class. The world would be so much nicer!

It's like December 1 casts a spell on the entire world full of love and smiles that lasts just until December 26.

And why is that? It is because so many people only associate Jesus with December 25. December 25 is "Jesus' birthday" (even though it really isn't even his birthday)and because of that, everyone is going to be nice to people. Just the idea that there is something regarding Jesus this month transforms people's lives completely. They may not understand how much hope Jesus brought or the significance of virgin Mary's pregnancy, but they show that Jesus=love.

December itself is a great example of the transformations Jesus can do in people's lives. Like take this, I have this teacher who is probably one of the coldest men I've ever met. He has very little emotions and sympathy towards anything, or at least at school that is the case. We took a quiz in his class and as a group, all of us felt like we failed. It was so rough. We passed in our papers and he looked at us as we waited in silence for our next task. He asked us how we thought we did and groans and "terrible!"s were thrown out. He flipped through the papers and then looked up at us and said, "Hey, it is Christmas after all." 

and then he threw them in the trash.

This is the same teacher who made a student soil his pants because his lecture was more important than the student going to the restroom.

If that's not enough of an example of what Christmas does to people, I don't know what is. 

I've also figured out that the change of emotions are also why so many people call strange things that happen during Christmas time "Christmas miracles." If it weren't during Christmas and everyone's feelings are bright and cheery, the thing wouldn't have happened. That is simply it. Some may call it a "Christmas miracle" that my teacher threw our quizzes out, and it was all because of Christmas and  happiness Jesus brings and brought especially on that day so many years ago in Bethlehem.

Jesus can change lives, and just as soon as December 1 rolls around, He changes people's attitudes, even if only for 25 days. 

In my short 15 years, I've never realized this before. Christmas is truly just another demonstration of His crazy power.

God is good. He is at work, and He is good.

-Lauren