‘O Come All Ye Faithful

 

Christmastime is one of my absolute favorite times of year. Since I was a child, I have loved joining together as a family soon after Thanksgiving to decorate our tree with beautiful, twinkling lights, sentimental and handmade ornaments, and drinking hot chocolate (even if it was 90 degrees) while singing Christmas carols. The entire season brought joy to me as I anticipated family gatherings, delicious meals, gifts bought with thoughtful care, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

As an adult, I am still so in love with this time of year as I prepare my own home for this special time. Each year I look forward to the town being decorated with lights, red ribbon, and trees, the smell of Douglas Fir everywhere, and of course the Hallmark movies. I have grown to love creating memories and traditions for my own little family of four and find tremendous joy as I watch my girls’ faces light up with excitement. It brings back joy-filled feelings of nostalgia from my childhood, and I often reflect on the wonderful privilege I have in being able to create a home that is filled with warmth, peace, love, thanksgiving, and joy.

And then it hits me…

That list a mile long of people, whom I love dearly, that I need to buy presents for, which causes stress because I have procrastinated in purchasing these presents. Not to mention the amount of money spent! I just cannot help it. They REALLY WANT it!

That calendar that seems to have an event or deadline almost every day, for sure every weekend, many times being double or triple booked. When am I going to find the time to attend all of these? Oh, and buy gifts for them as well? The excitement of Christmas lured me into signing up to help coordinate my child’s classroom party, the Sunday School party, the small group party, the friends holiday party, the whole family over for dinner…(I really did not coordinate all of those parties, but can anyone relate?) I guess I get a little over zealous and overly excited. The stress is building.

And let’s just go back to that money thing! Does anyone else feel like they need a second job to be able to cover the costs during the Christmas season? Christmas gifts, Christmas parties, Christmas clothes, Christmas trips… The money for the kids, the spouse, the extended family, the teachers, the boss, the employees, the ten White Elephant gifts…it can be quite overwhelming.

Maybe it is not the stress of the busyness of Christmas that makes this season difficult for you, but maybe it is the stress and grief that comes from the loss of family or friends. Maybe it is reflecting on broken relationships that you long to restore.

Over the last few years, Christmas has become not only a season that I greatly anticipate with love and excitement but also a season that I allow the stress to sometimes steal my joy. The things that stress me are also some of the best blessings about Christmas. I absolutely love thinking of the perfect gift for people and watching their faces as they open it on Christmas. I also love the gatherings throughout the season, which allow us to take part in community in different ways.

The busyness of Christmas, and life for that matter, is inevitable. I know this. But I do believe that there is a beautiful balancing act to find the peace, simplicity, love, joy, and thanksgiving in the midst of the chaos. I, little me, can create this in my life and home.

I am committing this season to finding the joy in the middle of the stress. I am committing this season to creating a space for my family and myself to truly reflect on Him. I know the age old saying “remember the reason for the season,” but let’s live it out this year.

Let us prepare our hearts for the celebration of His birth. Let us not just wake up on Christmas morning and say Happy Birthday and be done. Let us invest in prayer, scripture, and meditation that bring us closer to Him. Let us come and adore our Savior.

Over the next month, I will be posting songs, scriptures, prayers, and thoughts to prepare our hearts for Him this season. I am making a commitment to designate a specific time and place for my family and I to meet Him. Maybe it is simply lighting a candle each night and saying a short prayer as a family. Maybe it is gathering around the table at breakfast time and reading a few verses from the story of Jesus’ birth. Maybe you already have one of those beautiful advent calendars that you already have everything for the month planned out. Whatever you decide, just meet Him. Just allow yourself the opportunity to be still and receive the restoration, joy, love, and peace only He can give and that we all need during this season. There will be many times that this will be difficult to fit into my schedule and yours. Protect this time. Guard it. Make it the most important part of your day.

So come all ye faithful! Come let us adore Him this season!

Shared with love,

Lindsay

Maybe you already have a tradition like this-please share it with us. This is a community so please feel free to share with us any traditions, readings, or ways God is moving in your life.