Are You Ready??

Are you getting ready??? I mean that both ways --- You can’t appreciate the wonder of Christmas if you don’t get ready in the physical reality.  At this time of the year, I always think about the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible.  Mary sat at Jesus feet and just drank it in.  Martha bustled around the house, preparing the meal, seeing to the needs of the guests, serving --- all the Martha stuff.  Finally, Martha had a meltdown.  She demanded that Jesus tell Mary to get herself in the kitchen and help.  Jesus didn’t.  He told Martha that Mary had made the better choice. 

What did he mean by that??? Did he mean to forget about hospitality and tradition and eating and being together??  I hardly think so.  But most of what was making Martha crazy could have been done ahead of time --- and then Martha could have relaxed and enjoyed Jesus and the rest of the company too.  Mary decided that good-enough was good enough.  She sat down, had a glass of wine with the Master and enjoyed the party.  Martha ran around like a chicken with her head cut off and then got all caught up in resentment. 

I really believe in the gift of Martha --- the talent and skill for hosting and making people feel welcome and wonderful --- without the grudging resentment that messed it all up.  I’m working on cutting back on some of my ideas about perfection and tradition for Christmas, but I’m not there yet.  So I’m working on getting ready.  I’m working on planning ahead and doing things ahead so I can sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy the party. 

Here’s what I’m tackling this week to be ready:

Baking and freezing some really yummy treats --- they’ll pull out of the freezer in a flash when I need them. 

Washing all of the Christmas dishes – just a run through the dishwasher when I don’t need them --- it will take the pressure off later. 

Plan the menu --- this is it.  I’m out of time to shop around for bargains for our celebration.  I need to take stock and start a serious plan. 

Make a playlist on the Ipod – I want Christmas music playing for our celebration, but I’m going to scream if Alvin and the Chipmunks starts playing ---- so I’ll make my own playlist and control that right up front.