Day 103...It Feels Like Christmas, Yes, in May

Yesterday we were watching the Muppets Christmas Carol. I should say you were watching.  Iwas sitting nearby with Titus, and in and out of the room a lot.  Why did we put a Christmas movie in?  Well, why not?!  Really, primarily, the reason for it was that you just discovered you now like the Muppets, where about 6-8 months ago they didn't hold your attention all that much. And we happen to own the VHS now, so we popped this one in to see our favorite fuzzy characters.  Secondly though, I have no problem thinking about Christmas throughout the year.  I'll occasionally put in a favorite Christmas CD; and I sing Silent Night and Away in a Manger to you two all of the time.  What better songs to fall asleep to, right?

While I was not completely tuned in to the show, the catchy tune really caught me, as catchy tunes have a way of doing.  It was, "It Feels Like Christmas."  I stopped and paid attention to the lyrics; it was hard not to.  


  
It's in the singing of a street corner choir
It's going home and getting warm by the fire
It's true
Wherever you find love
It feels like Christmas
A cup of kindness that we share with another
A sweet reunion with a friend or a brother
In all the places you find love
It feels like Christmas
It is the season of the heart
A special time of caring
The ways of love made clear
It is the season of the spirit
The message if we hear it
Is make it last all year
It's in the giving of a gift to another
A pair of mittens that were made by your mother
It's all the ways that we show love
That feel like Christmas
A part of childhood we'll always remember
It is the summer of the soul in December

I am quite sure the Muppets are not the only ones to ever wish the holiday could last all year long, and not just so we can sing carols or light trees or gather with family and eat yummy food.  It goes much deeper into our souls.  And you get where I'm going when you think about these lyrics, and combine them with how I feel about Jesus.  All the ones who wrote, sang, and relate to this song can probably admit it: we all want those feelings to last, right? 


This may come across as a side-rant, but I'll go there anyways.  As I've said before, sometimes I feel like the "religious" traditions we keep around the holiday actually fall short of capturing the "magic" He puts in hearts all year round.  If I'm being honest, this is probably why I gravitate towards the secular side of the holiday, even as a Christian, because it's there that we're not really trying all that heart to "fit" Him in.  It's the feelings described in this song that really get us excited at this season, is it not?  And He is the underlying message, for a lot of us, so it's not hard to see Him in our traditions.  But I have no problem making Christmas about gifts and food and celebration and the nostalgia of childhood. I think those traditions of what we call "secular" sometimes bring us more joy and reflect Jesus' love and work in our lives even more than some of the religious activities we sometimes force upon ourselves.  Okay, enough of that spiel.

These lyrics capture my heart, how Jesus is to me, all of the time.  Even in the entirely pagan sense, having nothing to do with God, some non-religious people will admit they feel this song for all of its qualities they share.  Who doesn't want the season to last?  Well, for me, it just does with Him!  There's no other way I can put it more simply than that!  


The longing in my spirit I feel for Jesus, the deep yearning I have, and the sense of excitement He allows me; I get to have Christmas every day with Him.  It thrills me to know that holidays can awaken this desire in people, pagan or not.  But it also makes me want to share Jesus even more, because He without-a-doubt fulfills the essence of Christmas in their longing spirits.  

Now in thinking about the lyrics: the warmth, and singing, and the sense of home we all long for; all found in Him.  The finding and showing love; He is the ultimate Lover.  The part of our childhood we never want to lose; He awakens the child within each one of us.  He provides the cup of kindness we share with one another, every day.  Right now, today, in May, and every month.  Tis the season of the heart, the season of the spirit, the summer of the soul.  Whenever our hearts become redeemed, being restored now as we go along, we realize just how good this life with Him truly is.  It's what moves and drives my heart.  I'm so glad I don't have to wait until Christmas to find love and peace and warmth and home. And boy does it feel good to be a giddy kid!  As silly as that sounds.  


Thank you, Muppets!  And thank you, Christmas, for capturing the longing in our hearts for more.

Dear Sadie.