Even though Christmas comes every year, many times we face it unprepared.  As a result, the joy and blessing that should be a part of the season is often missing.

    We sort of stumble along, doing the same things year after year.  We prepare and consume much more food than we should.  We spend far too much time, energy, and money buying presents for people who do not need them (and often don't want them).  We bankrupt ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically, and sometimes financially, as we get caught up in the mad frenzy of Christmas.

    When it is over, we often wish we had done it differently.  We don't want to eliminate the food and festivities, the giving and getting together.  We just want to be in charge of them so they don't dominate the season and squeeze out the spiritual dimension, leaving us with a feeling of emptiness.  And we often say, "Next year I'm going to do it differently."

    Well, it is next year.  And it's not too late to get ready for Christmas.

    One thing we can do to get ready is to refocus our thinking.  I have heard people say Christmas is for children, reflecting the idea that Santa Claus is what Christmas is all about.  But that is not what Christmas means.  Christmas means God was born in human flesh, and should cause us to reflect on why this was necessary, and on what has happened as a result.

    If we want to focus on giving, we can plan to go beyond the family circle.  We can look for someone who really needs something which we can give.  We can plan to invest some of ourselves in the gift, not just our money.  If there are children we can let them have the joy of sharing also.  And it will be much better if their giving will mean they will receive less.  If it costs them nothing, it will mean little to them.

    We can plan to be a part of a Christian service somewhere during the Christmas observance.  Since December 25 is on Sunday this year, most of us will have the opportunity to attend a worship service on Christmas Day.  But because Christmas does come on Sunday, we will have to get ready long before the day.  We will have to make the decision to go, let it be known, then work our family observance around this decision.  We must look for ways we can do this, rather than reasons why we can't. The rest of the holiday will be so much better for everyone.

    There are many other things which can be done to get ready for Christmas..  And we can actually put most of them into practice this year.  What we can't do this year, we can plan to do next year.  Let's make the effort, take the time, pay the price, and be ready for Christmas when it comes.