It’s that season – the season when we hear that fun and uplifting song over and over again:
“It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all …”
I hope it IS a wonderful time for you. Of course, all of us have bumps in the road and periods of true struggle and grief, but the season where we recall the birth of Christ and all He made possible for us TRULY is the most wonderful time.
But the song sings much about “parties for hosting” and gifts for wrapping – and you know the drill. No question – for most of us, it’s also the busiest time of the year. Besides all the events of the holidays, Christmas and New Year’s close out one year and begin a new one, and there are so many responsibilities. For most of us, the pace picks up and our already full and busy lives get even more demanding.
You could sum up my whole message in one sentence: Don’t let your busyness break you.
The rounds of even the exceptionally good things like shopping, Christmas parties, seeing the lights, sports, extra family events and school programs … and more … can become very exhausting.
Being too busy makes us an open target to the negativity of other people. It makes it extremely easy to crumble when we hear our boss asking us to pick up the slack after already working demanding hours. It makes it easy to get unreasonable and angry with our spouse or children when they want something from us, and we feel like it’s the straw that’s breaking this camel’s back.
I want to urge you (and myself) to do the wisest thing in this hectic but wonderful season: Stop and intentionally take a pause to consider what truly matters in your life and find or renew true peace.
God says to our hectic rush, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14 NIV
In light of the brevity of life, live on purpose.
Stop being too busy for what really matters. Stop overscheduling and overcommitting. Instead, find peace that is found in Christ Jesus alone. Isaiah 40:31 NLT says, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Every one of us experiences being weary and tired without even trying. It’s normal and natural. But not every one of us experiences new strength.
The pace of life can accelerate quickly. During the holidays, it inevitably does. Demands come at us from every angle – work, family, community, even church. When this happens, the temptation is to abandon our personal spiritual habits in order to find more time or to be more productive. We don’t want to let anyone else down, so we drop the ball on ourselves and our source of strength, Paradoxically, the antidote to busyness is not found in doing more, it is found in doing more of the right things. YOU are a leader. You are leading yourself and others. You need time to hear from God to influence effectively. If you don’t, you will pass on your resultant stress, irritation, and anxiety to others. When times are busiest, guard your heart and your habits!
The psalmist reiterates the point. In every season, keep our hearts and our minds focused on the things that really matter in our lives. "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is." Psalm 39:4 NLT
Merry Christmas! May it be intentional, full of peace and purpose, wonder and joy, for you and your family.