The Reason

The Reason
by bro

When I think back over all the memories of Christmas from my childhood, I recall some pretty good times. There have been priceless moments with my family that I’ll remember for as long as I live. Still, there is one memory that creeps up every year that continues to serve as a reminder of the year I failed to remember the reason for the season.

I wish I could say I was younger in age at the time, but I was actually somewhere around the pre-teen years…11 years old…maybe 12. Several years had passed since I completed the hunter safety course in my state and I had massacred every bird, squirrel, and neighbor’s cat that crept within BB gun range of my yard. So on this year, a 20-gauge shotgun was on my list. And somehow despite the steep price-tag, my parents had led me to believe I was getting my first big-boy gun. However, on Christmas morning, as I rushed into the living room well before the sun ever began to shine, there was no shotgun to be found. I saw the underwear, socks, shirts, and other annual gifts, but no shotgun had been left behind. I was devastated! I was mad at the world! I marched back up to the room I shared with my brother. I woke him up and said, “You got what you want for Christmas, but I didn’t get squat!” I then crawled back into bed, pulled the covers over my head and threw quite the pity party for myself.

As the rest of the family began to wake up to Christmas morning, my older sister stormed into my room and as a loving big sister would, said, “Get out of bed you stinkin’ brat! You got what you wanted, you just didn’t look hard enough for it!!!” With that, I was flooded with the emotions of excitement and complete embarrassment all at the same time. I felt like such a fool walking into that living room after my selfish display of how I thought Christmas ought to go.

Many years have passed, but I’ve never forgotten my sister’s words. “You got what you wanted, you just didn’t look hard enough for it.” The truth is many of us are guilty of this very thing year after year. We fail to remember that the true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the Savior. Jesus is the reason for the season! He is what we are looking for…he is what we are longing for…but sometimes we miss Him because we simply aren’t looking hard enough for Him. We are caught up and distracted by other things and the reason for the season blows right past us.

Don’t miss it this year! He is the Reason!

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