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after the masterful hijacking of yesterday’s blog, i think the topic begs some revisiting…
i have to throw in with the church bad a@@. the first sounds of christmas music transport me back to some of the warm times of my childhood. unlike so many these days, my memories of the holidays with my family are good ones…and those thoughts are always triggered by the classic singing of nat king cole, bing crosby or elvis.
…and don’t forget alvin and the chipmunks.
no, my problems with christmas music begin to fester shortly after the initial rush of melodic christmas warmth… usually long before the first of december rolls around:
non-stop airplay on christian radio (…one of the many problems with this genre). the overkill is mind-numbing.
the musical trivializing of the birth of our savior by shopping mall management…which ultimately leads to the neutering of the gospel and the emptiness of the resurrection for the masses.
the fact that we miss the point of many of the so-called christmas hymns. go read the lyrics of second, third and fourth verses of some of the most famous ones…you’ll be blown away.
no matter how hard we try to focus on the lyrics when we sing christmas songs on sunday mornings, i’m afraid the potent meaning of the songs gets obscured by sappy holiday sentiment.
again, i’m with the church bad a@@ on this one… “o holy night” has always had an epic feel to it when we sing it at north point during the season. unfortunately, i don’t think we even have a number two song…
the list could go on…but i think you get the point.
so what does this have to do with marriage tuesday? everything.
my wife does not share my cynical, one-sided, judgmental, joy-robbing, pessimistic, mocking, sarcastic, disparaging, negative attitude about christmas songs.
she loves the sounds and sights of christmas with an innocent whimsy. she begins looking forward to the joys of the christmas season with childlike anticipation. she hums christmas carols. she points out every house or building that is decorated with lights and figurines with loving giddiness.
she never mistakes santa for jesus. there is never a conflict between holiday traditions and the solemn redemptive purpose found in the manger. her passion for people coming to grips with the real meaning of the nativity goes far beyond her love for her collection of wooden and ceramic nativity scenes.
her affection for the sounds of christmas music is fueled by her affection for the savior…not a seasonal blast of sentiment. for her, the songs are genuine expressions of worship. the lyrics inspire her. the music soothes her. the combination moves her.
so why do i pull down the boxes out of the attic the day after thanksgiving every year? why do i crawl on the roof and put up lights? why do i listen to christmas music when she wants to listen to christmas music? why did we create life-long christmas memories for our boys?
because she is right. because she knew we needed to do this. because she has always been more mature about this than i have been. this is just one of the many areas of our marriage that i have needed to defer to her maturity and follow her lead.because her sincerity trumps my cynicism every time.because i love her.because marriage is a partnership.because i learned long ago that without her patient complimenting of my rough edges and her gentle understanding of my weaknesses, i would not be who i am today.
are you going to invest in your marriage today? are you preparing yourself for marriage today?
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