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When we really understand that God loves everyone, not just us, it should open our eyes to the people around us. It should make us stop and notice. It should move us to do something. That's what Christmas calls us to do. To see the people around us. To really see them. And then to do something about it.

Getting what we want isn't the same as getting what we need. And what we need isn't more stuff or better decorations or perfect family gatherings. What we need is to know that our lives matter. That we're not just taking up space on this planet. That there's a purpose to our existence that goes beyond accumulating things and checking items off our wish lists.

We don't mean to be selfish at Christmas, but somehow the holidays become more about what we want to get than what we can give. So our Christmas lists grow longer, our expectations get higher, and we make this season revolve around us.   And that might just be part of why we feel let down at Christmas. Because Christmas isn't about us...it's about Jesus.

The first thing we tend to think of at Christmas is ourselves. We think about what we want for Christmas. We think about our holiday traditions. We think about our Christmas celebrations. We make Christmas about us instead of about Jesus. And when Christmas doesn't go the way we want it to, when we don't get what we hoped for, when our expectations aren't met, we feel let down.

We can't really know God when we're constantly in motion. We can't experience his presence when we're always thinking about the next thing on our to-do list. We can't hear his voice when our minds are cluttered with a thousand different concerns. Knowing God requires us to be still. So we have to make room for God.

Saying no is hard. Really hard. We worry about disappointing people. We worry about missing out. We worry about what others will think of us. We worry that if we say no to something, we're somehow failing.

When we're constantly choosing to do one more thing instead of spending time with God, we're communicating what we really worship. We're showing what we really believe is most important. And it's not God.

At Christmas, we get so busy that we don't really see what's right in front of us. We don't see Jesus waiting for us to make room for him in our lives. And before we know it, Christmas has come and gone, and we missed what mattered most.

When Christmas doesn't feel magical enough, we think the solution is to do more. So we bake more cookies, attend more parties, buy more presents, and put up more decorations. We fill our schedules with so much Christmas activity that there's no room left for anything else.   But maybe part of the reason we feel let down at Christmas is that we keep filling our lives with everything except what matters the most.

Busyness can make us feel productive. It makes us feel like we're accomplishing something important. But sometimes, maybe even most of the time, our busyness keeps us from what matters most.