December 22: Things Are Just Things

Sometimes you just have one of those special weeks. Sometimes your mantle cracks and falls off the wall, taking your mirror, pillar candleholders, and everything else delicate and breakable with it. Sometimes your little boy is so excited to find a hand painted ornament from the Elf that he grabs said ornament and starts running towards the stairs to show you and his siblings. And he accidentally drops it. And it breaks. 

The lesson I've learned this week is that things--stuff, items, possessions--are just that: Things. They are just things. They are replaceable, expendable, and their broken, fragmented pieces can be swept up off the floor and thrown away. They are just things.

Things can be replaced. People cannot.

Things are not more important than people. I'm thankful to say that I communicated this to my son when he showed me the broken ornament. And although the Elf worked really hard on that ornament, at the end of the day, it's just a thing that can be replaced. And it was an accident, and he was broken hearted. He and his little heart are more important. Our reactions can be very indicative of what we value. Have you communicated to your loved ones, especially your kids, that they're more important then your things?

Christmas is about the Giver, not the gifts. The Person of Jesus Christ, who came down to earth as a small, helpless baby to save us all, not things. I can't think of a better reminder this week as Christmas is only a few days away.