Black Friday Frenzy: On Your Mark — Get Set…….GO!
Shopping is in full force this morning. Well, actually, it has been in full force the entire month of November, if you based it on all the store email advertisements that said “Black Friday sales going on NOW! It seems “Black Friday” is no longer reserved for just Friday.
Clearly, the Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. And, speaking of come and gone, I made it home from East Texas in time to take down my Fall décor and put up my Christmas décor yesterday. This photo is my zealous way of ensuring “Christmas is so much more” (in the words of The Grinch). The word “zealous” is an exaggeration when I realize the incredible outdoor Christmas scenes and lights that are starting to show up!
The name “Black Friday” seems a bit negative to me because I see it as the ending of Thanksgiving and the beginning of hustle and bustle and all the joy of this new joyful season getting lost amid the chaos. The beauty of Thanksgiving and gratitude opened the doors to Christ-mas and the Christ Child Who brought peace on earth and good will to men. I hope we remember that as we saddle up our horses for the race to Christmas — now less than a month away. I think the multitudes that are in it to win the best deals ever on this Black Friday must have heard John Wayne’s words: “Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let’s go! We’re burnin’ daylight!”
I won’t join the crowds today because I don’t want to rush past this time of expressing my gratitude for God’s blessings this year. I was blessed to make a smooth transition and move to Austin. I love being here. It was God’s perfect plan and timing. My children made transitions in their lives that have blessed them in indescribable ways. All of us live in new places. I said this to my children: “I am in such a gratitude attitude because God has made this a year to remember His goodness and mercy that has kept us strong, healthy, with lots of good food on our tables, being able to be God’s hand extended to so many people around us. He’s given us protection during the storms, laughter amid the tough times and peace and security in abundance. We are so blessed!”
God tells us to “enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalms 100:4). Gratitude is that gate and doorway to God’s joy and peace, and praise is the key to His presence. Being aware of His presence may just be the key to having one of the best Christmas seasons EVER. Instead of today being “Black Friday” to us, we could turn it into a “Good Friday”, that becomes the doorway to that beautiful season of Advent which begins this Sunday. Advent is that sacred, focused and deliberate time when we ponder the coming of our Lord from His heavenly throne to earth to become one of us.
Heaven came to earth with the “landing” of our Lord here. Unlike the innkeeper who said, “No room in the inn”, may we cross over from the hustle, bustle, stress and mess that can accompany this season and do our best to make room for Him. And while we’re at it, let us continue to make room for gratitude to God for His love that gave us the Reason for this Season — the gift that keeps on giving — our Heaven on Earth — our Savior and our Lord! May this Black Friday become a Good Friday to YOU today!