One day this week I was sitting with my daughter while she was composing an email. “What is the first thing you think about when I mention Christmas?”, she asked. Not realizing that she was looking for something to use as an emoji for a work email, my stammering, stumbling response was “It’s the time we reflect on and celebrate the birth of Christ”. “Well, how do I put that into an emoji?”, she responded. “I don’t know. Why don’t you just use a Christmas tree, Santa Clause, or presents?” I said as I took the shortcut.

But I started thinking. What is the first thing (or things) I think about when someone mentions Christmas? I could list several items off the top of my head: shopping, cold weather, family and friend get-togethers, dinners, gifts, cards, cookies. Most of the initial thoughts were the superficial things that create busyness and hustling/bustling to get everything done. But is that where my thoughts should go? I took this as a challenge to come up with what really means the most to me. Many things come together to make the holiday season special, but the ones that top my list (in no particular order) are time with family, time for reflection, and time for celebration.

Getting together with family has always been important, though there have been many times that this has been disrupted. Starting with the first rotations in medical school and lasting up to retirement, our holiday get-togethers were always tentative. We all knew that for some part of the season I would be on call and that dinners or events could be interrupted at any moment. While interruptions were not very often, the possibility was there. Over the years I would rotate being on call Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, or any of the days in between. We had to be flexible and allow ourselves time together whenever we could work it out. We were always ready to make last-minute changes and enjoy what uninterrupted time we could get. Being together for meals, games, conversation, and other events still ranks as one of my favorite holiday traditions.

With children moving into adulthood, spouses and in-laws entering the picture, and the appearance of grandchildren we transitioned into an even more variable season. Putting together schedules for extended family and integrating that into all of our schedules has proven to be a challenge. When you add significant distance to the mix it complicates the season even more. But the one thing that becomes more meaningful is that we seem to enjoy the time we have together even more. Making the effort to schedule time together seems to make us realize the importance of intentionality when planning for the holidays.

I also love taking time to reflect. New Year’s resolutions are common for most of us, and whether it is as simple as “I want to exercise more” or as complex as “I want to start back to school and change careers”, the planning for the coming year comes during the holiday season. I usually start planning around Thanksgiving, reflecting on the current year and trying to look at priorities for the next one. Maybe it’s a product of aging, but I love reflecting on where I have been recently and then projecting where I would like to go over the next several months. Rarely do I meet all of my goals or expectations but the self-awareness I get from the process is rewarding in itself. With the realization that I have lived longer than I have left to live I like to focus on the big things, making sure I have room for them and letting the smaller stuff fit in where it can. Things that are too small to make it into my schedule or plans for the year don’t matter anyway.

Finally, I like to be sure that I keep things in perspective and use this time as a period of celebration. I have many things to celebrate and take time during the year to focus on different aspects of this. During the Christmas season, though, I want to focus on celebrating the birth of Christ and what He has done for me. Coming into the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for me makes my life meaningful. I am thankful for this and mark the occasion by keeping Him in the center of my activities. Recognizing that whether I am celebrating my family, friends, career, retirement, or health, He is the center of them all. Without Him, I would not have cause to celebrate.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone mentions “Christmas”? We could all come up with a list and most would be different from mine. I challenge you to take a few minutes over the next two weeks and try to think of three things that mean the most to you. I challenge you to take a minute to put aside the busyness and look at what is truly important to you. I think you’ll be glad you did.