Advent Season... Getting the 'Mas' Out of ChristMAS

Our next-door neighbor likes to point out how before we became parents, our garage used to be almost empty, neat and well organized.  Eleven years later, within the same square footage you can find everything but the kitchen sink.  Actually, I think there is a kitchen sink, or at least an old bathroom sink buried somewhere, under the layers of miscellaneous junk.  Of course, the meaning of the verb ‘find’ as applied in the above sentence is quite relative.  Our experience has taught us that you may search for an item, know it’s somewhere in there, but eventually the search is abandoned and the thing declared as lost.

Some of you may surmise that the key point in the above paragraph is that it’s about time for us to clean and organize our garage.  I will not argue with that.  But, for me, the key moment of our sudden descent into the life of chaos is when ‘we became parents’.  When our son was born, we knew absolutely nothing about babies, or parenting or any such thing. Even today, 11 years and two children later,   I certainly can’t claim expertise on either. 

Fortunately, we were surrounded with a loving community of fellow-parents who were more than eager to help.  We were thrilled. In the process of being helped, our house begun to burst at the seams, being stuffed with what was considered to be 'the baby essentials', ensuring our son's survival  during the first few years of his life with such uninformed and incompetent parents.  Plastic of bright primary colors invaded our kitchen, living room and bedroom.   Even the master-bath wasn’t spared! Beyond the clothes, diapers and the crib, bottles, sippy cups and plastic sporks we were introduced to an excercaucer, swing, bouncy seat, high chair, booster seat, umbrella stroller, reclining stroller, wagon, bicycle seat...  We child-proofed our home with outlet covers, door stoppers, window locks and electric barbed-wire baby gates (just kidding). We obtained a collection of children’s books matching in size the one fit for the ancient Alexandrian library.  We got Baby Einstein’s videos which grew into Little Einstein  DVDs and, of course, all the indispensable educational toys to stimulate his little brain, motor skills and hand-eye coordination.  

Looking back from this perspective, just managing all the baby paraphernalia, supposedly designed to help us, was by far more demanding and exhausting than taking care of our delightfully laid-back, adaptable, content baby boy who brought sunshine into our lives by the way he ate until he was satisfied; and slept sprawled across my lap; by the way his face lit up when we played together and the way he wrapped his tiny fingers around my pinky. Of course, he soon morphed into a determined toddler, but that belongs to a different story.

We are getting ready for the celebration of the birth of another baby Boy. It's a season pregnant with opportunities, expectations, excitement and an entire spectrum of emotions. We all want to make the time meaningful in a lasting way. Perhaps even participate in the miracle of the spiritual birthing process, the coming of Christ-child into the hearts of our neighbors and acquaintances? But, before I jump in, I need to pause and evaluate. 

Am I making room for the arrival of the Son of God… or just adding to the well-meaning spiritual clutter of the season? Is it possible that in my zeal to be helpful I could be unintentionally contributing to the noise and chaos rather than relieving them… ?

Jesus doesn't need our 'helpful' paraphernalia, our frantic activity so we can get ready for His coming ... He wants us - you and me -so He can share Himself - His very life with us!  May He find ample room in our hearts so He can help us clear the 'MAS' - the mess and the clutter - out of CHRISTmas and the rest of our lives.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6