Tis The Season

Hello, dear friends.

I’m happy to say I’m about to wrap up my second writing challenge. With this post, and hopefully the one I’ll get in tomorrow, I will be done with the challenge I gave myself a month ago. It’s been four weeks of writing about God’s love and grace and even though we are all in a super busy time of year, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity and blessed by those who came along for the journey.

I can honestly say I won’t be giving myself any more writing challenges for a little while. I’m most certainly feeling the crunch of winding up another semester while preparing for Christmas. In fact, I feel like my heart hasn’t had time to sink into writing much at all lately so rather than “phone it in” (so to speak), I’ll just write when I get inspired and have the time.

Which reminds me, who has any time right now?

I wanted to have so much done by now. Gifts ready to go. Maybe even wrapped. Cards written. House prepared for guests. Decorating done. (Ok, that last one I actually have done and I’m quite happy about it).

I realize it’s still kind of early. But I bet you’re thinking the same things. I’ll bet you’re looking at your list and thinking, how in the world will I get it all done?

How good would it feel to actually sit back and enjoy the rest of the season? Or at least the week of Christmas? How nice would it be to finally avoid that horrible, can-hardly-keep–yourself-from-screaming-at-other-shoppers-or-running-them-over-with-your-cart feeling?

I don’t even have kids and I feel this nuts.

It really bothers me that something so beautiful can become so stressful. That commercial that jingles, “Christmas doesn’t happen without me” makes me crazy. My inward reply is usually something like: Really? Last time I checked, Christmas is something that will happen with or without you. And it certainly means more than your polished presentation.

I must be grumpy.

Please don’t get me wrong…my heart goes out to the busy moms, including my own, who go out of their way to make a nice Christmas for their family and who know it certainly won’t get done if they don’t step up to the plate. I know dads like that too. It takes courage to face this season. It shouldn’t. But it does.

We’ve been talking about grace and I’m going to take a second to remind us all that we’ll never make it through all this season requires without the grace of our God…at least not so prettily.

God has a wonderful way of taking our very skewed perspectives and subsequent anxieties and putting us right back on track for Christmas blessings. This season is wondrous but it’s not all the traditions that make it that way…as wonderfully nice as they are.

It’s the remembrance of “Emmanuel”. God with us. God coming to earth to offer Himself.

I need Him in these busy days. I need Him everyday. And when I submit to Him, He makes straight my paths (Proverbs 3:6). When I seek Him first, all the rest falls into place (Matthew 6:33).

Wow, am I grateful for that. Blessed time with Him makes me whole…and strong…and far less scattered. Best of all, it fills me with peace and joy…

in a season that really should be about peace and joy.

I would never make it without Him. But the beautiful thing is, when I seek Him for the Gift He is, I more than make it. I actually enjoy.

Thank you, Jesus. My greatest hope is we won’t be foolish enough to let these days slip through our fingers without opening our hearts to the most precious gift of all.