When I went for a walk around my block, just a couple of days after Halloween, I noticed that one of the houses on the street was already decked out in full Christmas gear: lights, reindeer, trees, wreaths, you name it. As we've settled into November, I've noticed it more and more: houses with candles in the windows, reindeer on the front lawn, and wreaths on the doors. Stores are starting their holiday sales: Black Friday all month, they call, let's just skip to the end of 2020 please.

On the one hand, I totally get it. 2020 has been ROUGH. People have lost their jobs, others have lost their lives; the economy may never recover and the people who lost loved ones can never recover their friends and family. The time that we've lost either in pursuits put on hold or in utter isolation can never be regained. So much has slipped through our fingers or been violently torn away this year. We can't help but seek an end to the madness, to latch onto the feeling that if we can just make it till the end of 2020, maybe something better will be out there on the other side. 

Plus, Christmas is a time of hope and joy! Yes, I know it can become a very material thing, but I think even in those material things, just the Western cultural idea of Christmas gives people a warm, cozy, happy feeling. And we could definitely do with a little extra of that this year. Christmas also brings into focus those who are struggling financially, and with more of those than ever, it can never be too early to start giving.

On the other hand, I wonder if there's a light we're missing in all of this: tomorrow to be exact, Thanksgiving Day. Now more than ever, I think it is necessary not to skip to the end. Now more than ever, we have to remember what we already have that's good. Now more than ever, we have to find some way to find gratitude and hope, even when it seems impossible, because it's the only way we'll survive these crises with strength. That's not to say that I think everyone celebrating Christmas early is only searching for the material things or trying to skip ahead to the future, but I just wonder if it would do us good to focus on Thanksgiving first, and Christmas after.

I honestly am not sure, and it's possible that too much time spent analyzing texts in college has caused me to analyze everything a little too much. I'm curious about what you all think and how you might find the balance: do you think that Christmas has been pushed too much, too fast, in light of how much we need Thanksgiving in 2020? Or is Christmas joy exactly what we do need, especially when we're reminded that this hard life is not the end because of the hope of we have in Jesus? Let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

As a sidenote, one thing I've started doing to be grateful is to look for the moon every night, just to smile at the light, see how it shifts with the seasons, and to be grateful for the daily presence of something so glorious. When I can't see the moon, I look for stars, and I take a moment to smile at God for allowing me to see them. When I can't find either, I remember that they're there and I thank God that, like Him, they haven't left us yet.