Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/girl-plait-person-hair-cold-570556/
The holidays can be a blur of activity no matter what you are celebrating. It seems like time speeds up and the amount of commitments do too, so that you have less time to do more things. This year I’m adding my brother’s wedding to the craziness of my Christmas season.But something my soon to be sister-in-law said the other day has stuck with me. “We’re trying to find joy in the midst of busyness.” Instead of looking at the long list of to-dos and getting overwhelmed, she is trying to find joy in each task. I think this attitude is applicable to more than just wedding craziness, but can and should be applied in the holiday season too.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in all the details: parties, presents, dinners, decorations, traveling, and whatever else your holiday includes. These things can crowd out what’s really important.
So here are a few things that are really important about this season, at least to me. Your list may differ, but I would encourage you to figure out what they are, and try to focus on them this season.
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/christmas-children-holiday-child-1078274/
1. Family. Even if I don’t get my sister/brother/parents the perfect gift, we’re still family, and we still love each other. I want to focus more on spending time with my family while we’re together and enjoying them. We tell jokes together, watch funny movies, and play board games and those memories have been more precious to me than any gift I’ve received. So I don’t want to miss out on spending time with my family this year, and showing them how much I love them, through the time I spend with them.
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/baby-bethlehem-bible-christ-21990/
2. Christ. To me, Christmas isn’t Christmas without Christ. The whole reason I have hope, joy, peace, life, love, or anything good, is because of God. He showed his love for me, by sending Jesus into this broken and messed up world. He experienced all the heartaches of this place, and He made a way for me to be saved from it. He showed the greatest love by dying in my place, taking my punishment, and being separated from the Father. So now, I don’t have to. His precious gift of Himself, is what Christmas is all about. And if I forget that, I forget what’s most important.
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/love-all-space-fly-3d-star-font-209900/
3. Love. This really stems from my other important things. Christ’s love for me is the reason I can love my family, even when they disappoint me, or love a friend even when they get on my nerves. God’s love reached out to His enemies, and that love, working in me, should reach out to strangers, outcasts, even enemies. I’ve heard that love is the most powerful thing in the world, and when it comes from God, I’d say that sounds pretty accurate. God’s love changes everything. It’s changed my life, and it is still changing this world.
So there’s my list of important things for this crazy season. I’m going to try to focus on loving others, including my family, from an attitude of thankfulness for how Christ has loved me. And I’m pretty sure that will help me have joy instead of stress this year. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the holidays too.
NovelSisters 
Leave a Reply