This post is not to incite guilt in those enjoying their candy canes

Just about every holiday season my brother Patrick approaches me and recites the following:

"One day Jesus made a holiday and he named it Christmas Eve."

This is because I wrote it down (with "jesus" not capitalized, tsk--this was before my dad had entered the ministry, it's not like there was a test) in green and red marker and my mom framed it and it is a staple decoration in our December home.

I was just talking to my friend Dave about being a Grinch(es) and how--hello!--all the pressure to be happy-go-lucky during this season is just a fabrication that has nothing to do with what Jesus was sent here to teach us. Jesus teaches us that He is there when the floor drops out, not just when it's there with four walls decked with boughs of holly.

So I am saying "Jesus is the reason for the season," but I'm trying my hardest not to use that rhyme, which I feel further perpetuates the myth of magical perfection on Dec. 25 on human calendars. Because I'm saying that Jesus is the reason for Jan. 12 and 4:03 p.m. and for Tuesdays.

And,

Peeps, God doesn't even have a calendar, at least not the type we use. A schedule, yes. A plan, yes. Perfect timing?

Oh my goodness, yes, in a way we have no understanding of (Ephesians 3:14-19).

But something that aligns with human desire for control? Nope.