Wheres the JOY?!?!

So over the years I have grown to detest Christmas. Not the morning of, nothing makes me happier than to see joy in my families faces, but the whole mindset that surrounds it. I was raised in the church and strongly believe that the reason for the celebration is the birth of Jesus but somewhere along the way that thought has been buried under presents, schedules, and the human desire to use "stuff" instead of word or deed to express emotion. The joys of the holiday have been replaced by violence over cheap tvs, stress to make sure we find THE thing for kids, and the pressures we put on ourselves to scramble about making sure we dont miss a thing. I dont remember these things in my childhood. Some of that was due to the oblivion of youth but I also believe that things have simply gotten worse as generations progress from childhood into what we now call "adults". Christmas was magical. Christmas music blaring from the day of the first snowfall, the second Saturday of December dedicated to putting up the tree with full decor, and the calm serenity of our candle lit Christmas eve service all grace the chambers of my memory. Feeling calm and thankful for my wonderful family are feelings I remember with great ferocity. Ferociously calm, think about that one for a while.

Now I am not unaware of the fact that things change when the tables turn. I go from joyous receiving to joyous giving, or something like that. I love giving. I love seeing joy on faces and knowing that in some way I had a hand in providing that emotion. If it were only that simple. Or is it that simple? Are we our own biggest enemies when it comes to this time of year? My wife, Jill, and I have gone round for round, blow for blow on this very topic. She loves to give. It is her way of showing emotion, showing love. She is not an overly affectionate woman so when the time comes she goes waist deep into it because she wants to show her love for our kids. The argument always goes to quality vs. quantity, physical "stuff" for emotional response, and on and on and on... I never win and after 13 years I have conceded the point and have regulated my response to one good tyrade for the cause then go back to my cave to be the Grinch until Christmas morning.

Wheres the Joy? How do I find it? Is it even there to be found. I am a geocacher(nearly professional) I am good at finding things, this should be easy. HA! I looked high and low. I went to the stores, and let me tell you for someone who hates shopping on any given Tuesday in April, this was a stretch. Joy in the faces of shoppers? Nope. In the folks walking in and out of the stores? Nope. The Santa dressed guy ringing a bell for spare change outside? Nope. The only joy I was able to find was that of the employees who were simply grateful to have a job this holiday season. I went to the churches, because surely the folks who have eternal life shored up are going to be joyous and celebrating the reason they will spend eternity in fellowship with their savior. Nope. They sat their with melancholy glances and half welcoming greetings to one another. The pastor tried his best to convey the joy but they just didn't seem to get it. Then comes the music. The worship time and those tunes we have listened to since our childhood began to echo throughout the building. My joy needle pegged! I was brought to tears. Surely this would ignite these folks... Nope. The guy at the end of the pew continued to sleep, the lady across the way kept updating her Twitter, and my "full tank" emptied almost as fast as it filled. Where is the Joy?! So now the only place I could turn to was my own home. Well this year my home is in our Explorer as we are in the middle of a PCS move over the holidays. This should be good. The "joys" of Christmas now packed into one vehicle with 2000+ miles of road in front of us and stops to family along the way. Holy bananas!! Well joy is in the oblivion of our children and at this point I will take what I can get. They are glad to see the cousins, glad that Christmas morning is fast approaching, and that even though we are "homeless" we are going to still rock some of the McGlynn family traditions. Christmas eve will find us around the TV watching "The Christmas Story". Christmas morning will be a little different due to our location but there will still be cinnamon rolls cooking and I will torture them by making them stay put in their room until I am ready with coffee(I am always ready far before they wake up but I like to torture them...my joy!). So where is the Joy? I am not sure but I am going to keep looking. Where is yours? How do you find Joy in this time of year? I believe the responses will all be the same. We find it in ourselves and that satisfies us for the one month a year we go through these shenanigans. But at some point that will falter as well so with that I will issue a challenge to all of you. Spread the joy. Find a way to share the things that make you feel the Joy of this holiday. How you do that is up to you and I hope its not with giving people "stuff". Give of yourselves, give of your families, and be well! Merry Christmas everyone. I pray blessings of love and JOY to you and your families this holiday season