Above the Holiday Hustle
By: Pastor Lori Champion
Is it just me, or does it feel like Christmas 2021 was just a couple months ago?
Holidays hold some of my greatest memories, favorite family recipes, and traditions. Joyful moments where the perfect gift was not the most expensive, but the one that was the most thoughtful. I’ll never forget the Cabbage Patch doll that my sweet Dad stood in line waiting for at 2am at our local Sears store. His sacrifice meant more to me than the present itself, and that doll has moved to every one of my homes (attics, now) since that Christmas of 1984.
Holidays can also evoke sadness, reflecting on those who are no longer with us, or relationships that are not what they were meant to be. I’ve cried with people experiencing a “first holiday” without a loved one, or spending a lonely Christmas, having to share children with an ex-spouse and step-family. Christmas can be way more complicated and much less predictable than what the Hallmark channel makes it seem.
No matter your family dynamics – good, bad or ugly, we can all get sucked into a holiday hustle that can rob us of the very thing that the precious gift of Jesus, came to bring us through His birth… PEACE.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Christ was birthed into the chaos of this world and the craziness of the season, and even without a place to stay, and He embodied peace in the middle of it all. Peace isn’t the absence of busy-ness, it’s the presence of Christ.
Here are three ways to thrive this month:
1. Let peace fill your calendar.
Don’t say “Yes” to everything, let peace rule your schedule. There have been trips I’ve canceled because I didn’t have peace and it turned out to be a God whisper that I needed to be home at that time.
I’m not saying to skip Mom’s Christmas dinner. There are things where we sacrifice our convenience to show our love. Relationships will cost us our comfort and we are modeling to our kids (who sometimes have to take their toys on the road) that family is worth it. But, if you’re not careful, you’ll spend so much time going to unimportant events that it will take away your energy from those who matter most.
2. Keep your Christmas Christ-like.
It is sad that people can celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ. I’m all for fun movies, for Christmas strolls and lots of presents. But, we need to make sure that we are creating spiritual moments for our family, where we are celebrating the real meaning of Christmas. Some ideas are:
Do an advent calendar activity with your family.
Take your kids to a live nativity scene.
Read the Christmas story before opening presents.
And of course, go to Christmas services and serve. God loves when His kids gather for worship, it’s His ultimate birthday party!
3. Let your holidays be holy.
This may sound redundant to point #2, but I believe that sometimes we write off the end of the year spiritually, like the end of a bad-eating vacation week. Our mentality is “We’ll start again in January!” But, God wants us to finish 2022 strong, consecrated to Him, committed to His House. God has a wish-list, and the gifts He wants are you and me. He doesn’t want to wait until next year!
If you want to stay Above the Holiday Hustle or the year-round hustle, here’s a verse to live by:
And let the peace of Christ rule (above the holidays, above the stress, above the pressure) in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. - Colossians 3:15