Somewhere in between the seasons

Changing seasons is a lot like changing gears. When the change is made smoothly, life trucks along pretty well. If, however, we don't change gears properly, life bucks and jumps and we get nowhere fast.

Moving from Thanksgiving to Christmas should go smoothly. Yet as I watched the opening of Macy's Department Store for their pre-Christmas Sale, it looked like chaos to me. The two men guarding the door looked out on a crowd of 3,000 anxious shoppers. The moment the doors were unlocked, the crowd surged forward like an angry sea, flooding Macy's with waves of women and men and lots of children. People pushed and shoved to get at the "bargains." A young mother cussed a grandmother for getting in her way.

Parents were screaming at their children; children were yelling and crying.

People who had just given thanks to God for their many blessings were now acting in a most un-Godly manner. Nowhere did I see an example of the Christmas spirit. Shifting from Thanksgiving to Christmas was not going smoothly.

What might we do to make the transition go well? Thanksgiving is that special time of the year when we (l) stop what we're doing to notice what God is doing; (2) slow down in our rush to accumulate things and realize that nothing we have accumulated belongs to us anyway. God merely loans us these things for a short time to use for the benefit of all peoples; (3) pause in our busy lives to let God know that we truly are thankful for God's generous provisions.

Christmas is that special time of the year when we (1) go from being a grasping person to being a giving person; from wanting everything for ourselves to sharing what we have with others; (2) move from focusing the spotlight on ourselves (we love to be the center of attention) to focusing on Christ and making him the center of our thinking and doing; (3) rush to imitate Christ's lifestyle instead of imitating someone in our society.

Shifting gears from Thanksgiving to Christmas should go smoothly. Giving thanks to God should be the beginning of Christ-like living. Perhaps one reason why the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is such a hectic, un-Godly time is that we are not truly thankful to God for all the blessings, and we are not really interested in adopting a Christian life-style.

So, if life in these transition days is bucking and jumping and we're getting nowhere fast, think about it!

The Rev. Dr. Don Kuehle is a United Methodist minister who lives in Jackson.