Almost Christmas

So it is almost Christmas and to me it feels as though it could be any other time of year. You know all those movies where the main story involves a couple trying to avoid Christmas? Well I feel the exact opposite. I want to enjoy Christmas, but I just can't seem to find it anywhere. Maybe that's because I've been traveling from place to place these past few weeks, I don't know. It's kind of depressing in many ways because I do enjoy Christmas so much.

This year in many ways I have been frustrated about what Christmas has come to mean. I think that we have become way too materialistic. But while I feel that way and I think that, I have found myself caught up in the hustle and bustle of buying gifts too. Not showing up empty handed, as though there is a standard that I need to keep. Where is the balance and how do I find it? I have an alternate gift idea for friends and family, but yet I don't think it's enough. Why is that? Why can't we simply give each other the gift of love and companionship and let that be enough?

~Sigh~

Well I figure that I still have some time for it to really feel like Christmas. It could be that tomorrow night during the Christmas eve service when I'm surrounded by friends and family and celebrating the birth of Christ that the meaning of the season will kick in, but it's hard to say.