A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorite shows at Christmas time.  Like Charlie Brown, I get a little moody before Christmas.  Christmas, like most holidays, makes me anxious.  I'm anxious about getting my house clean.  I'm anxious about getting the Christmas cards out.  I'm anxious about getting the Christmas cards right.  I'm anxious about trimming the tree, putting up the outdoor lights, making Christmas cookies, buying the right gifts, paying the right bills, doing the laundry, making time for friends, getting enough sleep, getting enough work, getting enough food in the refrigerator for my growing 13 year old boy! I think my anxiety comes from the expectations I put on myself. I want to make every Christmas the best Christmas ever for my kids. I want to make lasting memories and traditions they'll remember with fondness for the rest of their lives.   

So, is this realistic?  All I want is for their lives to be free of pain and full of happiness.  I want them to have wonderful memories instead of sad and lonely regrets.  I want to shield them from criticism, profanity, things that chip away at their innocence, loss, betrayal, dissappointment, and everything else on this earth intended for evil.  But that is probably why my anxiety is so high, because I don't make a great shield.  I probably add more criticism, profanity and dissappointment in their lives at home than they get outside our home.  Like Charlie Brown, I seem to make a pretty good mess of things.  Fortunately, Linus redirects me to the true meaning of Christmas:

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.   -Isaiah 9:6-7 

I can never be everything for my kids, but I can rest in the fact that God sent His very own son from the comforts of heaven to a cold, sparse manger to be my kid's Wonderful Counselor, their Mighty God, an Everlasting Father to them and their very own Prince of Peace.  If I could let go of my unrealistic expectations of myself and stop trying to be God, maybe some of my anxiety would melt away and some of my problems would dissolve and we could enjoy family traditions and make lasting memories of a very Merry Christmas.