Have you decorated and baked, shopped and wrapped, tucked things under the tree and still have a list longer than Santa's? That would just about describe me! And I've got a deadline calendar that makes me panic every time I even dare to peek at it.
But I've been thinking lately about a simple truth: even if I got it all done early, even if I did everything perfectly (which, of course, I can't) and even if I exceeded all expectations, it wouldn't really matter.
Because the important thing, the real thing, the deepest truth at the root of Christmas is this: that we light our hearts before we set a match to that first candle, that we ornament our conversation with kind words. That we give ourselves as the first, best gift, even if it's the only one.
I'm making my lists and checking them twice, making sure my own heart is the my sincerest gift this season, and it's remarkably freeing. The lights are lovely but a beautiful heart matters even more.
Merry me! Merry Christmas!
