It is the time of year that I most dread. As soon as the leaves exchange glorious green for the warmth of red, yellow, orange and brown, I reluctantly peek around fall’s corner to see Christmas barreling towards me. My inner serial monologue begins with a long dread-filled exhale:
Here come those shorter days and longer nights, and the inevitable Christmas time. Actually, I welcome the solar shift as it is the ideal time for hibernating, resting, and reflecting on the past year and contemplating goals for the impending year. But the contemporary and commercial demands of Christmas (which each year seem to increasingly devour more and more days) steal away the shorter days for preparing, shopping, decorating, mailing, and running all the errands. Simultaneously, the longer nights get over scheduled with holiday gatherings and parties.
I complain, Why is everyone throwing holiday parties at the same time? Can’t these gatherings and celebrations be sprinkled throughout the year? I would love a party in June. Winter’s cold weather asks us to don layers, thick sweaters, boots, coats, and hats, not dainty evening gowns and uncomfortably fierce heels.
My sentiments continue to spiral.
I spend all year trying to maintain a clean, clutter-free, relaxing, “cozy-minimalist” home, and then Christmas assaults my simple, monotone-themed, serene spaces with screaming, bright red contrasted with hunter green, sparkly tinsel, giant socks dangling, a giant tree erected inside my house, adorned with so many lights and all kinds of stuff, placed front and center commanding all the attention! How much time do I lose daily adjusting the stuff on the tree? How much money do we lose stuffing things under the tree?
My Scrooge-ery persists.
I am overwhelmed as I contemplate the expectations of the “holiday Marthas” — Stewart or the sister of Mary and Lazarus or anyone who lovingly and painstakingly prepares an elaborate table but is ultimately disappointed when the guests and the gathering don’t present like a Hallmark commercial. Each year, Martha’s displeasure pollutes the atmosphere. It feels heavy. It suffocates joy.
As you can imagine, anticipating all the challenges of the long holiday season in the space of a few minutes is exhausting. The exhaustion ushers in anxiety and dread. The encroaching darkness of my emotions and of the season compel me to escape. Honestly, I would love to go on an international weeks-long vacation to avoid the holiday madness, but for practical purposes (i.e. not in the budget), escape is not an option.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Psalm 94:19 (NIV)
But in my darkness, I pursue light. Among the anxiety-inducing demands of the holidays, I go in search of the holy. The Hebrew word for holy is qadosh, which means something that is “other” or has been “set apart for a special purpose.” And though the word holiday is formed from the words “holy” and “day,” often times I have struggled to experience a sense of sanctity and consecration during the stressful, common demands of this season.
I have learned the art and beauty of a more sacred practice — a practice where I seek that which is uncommon and special during this time of the year: I am replenished by acknowledging the holy days in the midst of the holidays.
I marvel at the expression of generosity. I watch family members with little give much so that those with nothing can receive gifts. I giggle in disbelief thinking about how the adults in my family will lavish gifts on our children, not because our children lack anything but just because the adults love giving in abundance.
I get excited about the winter break, where the normal hustle and bustle of carpooling, commuting, and schedule-keeping is suspended. The break in the daily grind makes room to reset, to consider doing life a different way, to make amendments and revisions, to dream a bigger dream.
I contemplate the family gathering shenanigans. I have the privilege of belonging to a family that has for generations consistently gathered for holidays and Sunday-after-church meals. We pack a multitude of folks into love-filled homes, around feast-filled tables overflowing with so much food there is no room for place settings. We balance our plates along with our children and their plates on our laps. We highlight and share everything in our lives to laugh about. And inevitably, “Silent Night” by The Temptations plays to authenticate the season of celebration. We don’t do Christmas without it.
I am filled with wonder knowing that during this season, the ending of the shortest and darkest day of the year marks the beginning of longer, brighter days in the making. I am grateful that someone selected this solar shift from darkness to light as a time to celebrate the dawning of a new day in Christ, and I am grateful for these holy moments during the holidays.
What is uncommon and special for you during the holiday season? How do you search for holy in the midst of the holidays?
The ending of the shortest and darkest day of the year marks the beginning of longer, brighter days in the making. - @brownicity: Click To Tweet Leave a Comment
Lucretia,
Love “Silent Night” by the Temptations! Like you, I get a little scrooge or grinch-like around the holidays. I don’t like that Thanksgiving has been swallowed up by Black Friday and Cyber Monday – morphed into cyber week. Me, my, mine. For me, I have to focus on Advent and the anticipation of the coming Christ. Our tradition is reading Ann Voskamp’s, “The Greatest Gift” advent devotional and then we hang the daily ornaments on our Jesse tree. It’s a quiet, reflective time that takes our eyes off the tinsel and redirects them to the manger where God became man and dwelt among us. Oh what a gift. This is how I seek the holy in the holidays. I’ll be singing “Silent Night” with you 🙂
Blessings,
Bev xx
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Although it is a continually shifting tradition with our nest emptying by the year, our family Advent tradition of gathering around the prophecies leading up Jesus birth and then the gospel narratives has anchored me each year in the Truth we celebrate.
And, Lucretia, thank you for adding a new Christmas tune to today’s play list. I’m gonna check that out!
Michele,
Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Enjoy “Silent Night” by the Temptations.
Lucretia,
I get scrooge y around Christmas. Can’t stand losing Thanksgiving to all the hoopla around Christmas. It seems we go from Halloween to Christmas with little mention of Thanksgiving. Oh you see all the stuff for baking & cooking but not much mention of what the holiday is meant to celebrate. We have become a nation that has forgotten what Christmas is all about. Most think of the many gifts to buy or receive. We say Happy Holidays not Merry Christmas. Why? Simple. We don’t want to offend anyone. Without the birth of Christ there would be no Christmas to celebrate. My hubby & I watch Charlie Brown Christmas every year-actually we watch Charlie Brown Halloween, & Thanksgiving also. I feel a lot like Charlie Brown. Doesn’t anyone know the true meaning of Christmas anymore.?
Love this: “the ending of the shortest and darkest day of the year marks the beginning of longer, brighter days in the making.” I will start using this time to reflect on the past year & make plans for a better & brighter new year.
Blessings 🙂
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Lucretia, thank you for the reminder to intentionally remember the holy. My immediate family acts out the Christmas story each year – an impromptu hazarding we lovingly call Halfway to Bethlehem (because that’s how far our toddlers made it the first year). Lol Everything is simple, not scripted. No expectations. Besides reading the same passage out of Luke, each year is different but every year produces laughter and a deeper connection with both my family and the Storyteller.
Pearl,
You’re welcome.
Thank you for sharing!!! What a beautiful tradition.
May your holidays be holy. May you make it all the way to Bethlehem. 🙂
You are welcome! Here is the arrangement I am talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfgNR_aiSTg
Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Lucretia:
How blessed are you to have a love-filled home.
I think I will be blessed to focus on Christ and to have my heart filled with wonder and gratitude for Christ being “The Promise of OUR Saviour”.
We are at a blessed time in History to see that God delivered the best Gift that was promised, Jesus surrendered to “become sin” for us all – and we have the indwelling Spirit living on the inside of us.
This is enough for me as I contemplate Oneness in my journey through family separation – I lean on and into God and experience a “gentle JOY” of surprise gifts as I ask Him for a Miracle of family restoration. I want Christmas to just be about “O Come let me adore Him, Christ the Lord”
If I am tempted to despair, I will keep looking into Jesus for all
The things he is in the prophecy of Isaiah: Wonderful , Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
I will pray to Cheist for surpRISE glimpses of his Glory this Christmas – as I pray and believe Him for Marriage Healing – as I thank Him that He is the One
that God promised – the One given to bring healing and restoration to the world.
May all be richly blessed this Christmas in receiving the Saviour.
Let us Savour the Saviour – He is the Bread of Life …all who come to Him do not hunger or thirst.
“For unto US a child is born, unto US a Son
Is given. He shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
JOY to the World:the Lord IS come. Peace to all this Christmas
Janine!
‘Let us savor the Savior.’ Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Lucretia!
I adore you – you have verve, vigour and vitality. I love how you are so passionate to be positive – and yes…I am so grateFULL really to have and experience the humility in being aligned to ponder and “Savour the Saviour “ (love how you changed the spelling of Savour to your American spelling in your response!)
God is not good.
God is Gloriously Great and so – yes – let us Savour the Saviour and the beauty of His holiness that descended upon us so that we could enJOY personal relationship with Him (taste and see that the Lord is …Gloriously Great! ) and experience all the 5 attributes that were predicted of His Precious Presence in Isaiah …and comes true for us daily:
“Unto Lucretia (recall lucrative – you are of “high worth”) a Saviour is born. Unto Lucretia a SON is Given [Greatest Gift] ; He [IS] Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
The Greatest Gift at Christmas is not under the tree but in the One who came to Give life (to us) ON a tree.
May the blessed Saviour bless you and yours and whisper His loud love to your heart so that it bursts forth into JOY fireworks for who we are Given at Christmas and each day of the year.
Holy HUG to you Lucretia!
Sincerely Janine
My sentiments exactly. I start the Christmas dread as soon as September comes. Each year, I get through the “too much” of Christmas & wonder how, but I do, and will again this year.
Doreen.
Its good to know I am not the only one. Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Lucretia, thank you!!
I feel like a need daily reminders of this… “I have learned the art and beauty of a more sacred practice — a practice where I seek that which is uncommon and special during this time of the year: I am replenished by acknowledging the holy days in the midst of the holidays.”
Holy …. Day… holiday. Thank you! This is such a sweet reminder to look for the sacred in the midst of the commotion.
Bless you Sister and your HOLYday 😉
Becky
Becky,
Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Lucretia,
I love the way you put this, to purpose to see the holy in the midst of the holidays. I love gathering with friends and family, but the pressures of hosting a perfect holiday feast suck the joy out of it for me. So next Sunday a few families will come over and we’ll eat pizza on paper plates while the kids play basketball and croquet and we remember together the great gift of being a family of believers. xx
Becky,
That sounds like so much fun. I hope everyone has a blast and you are energized at the end (instead of exhausted)! Thank you for sharing!!!
May your holidays be holy.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful perspective.
I traditionally experience stress during the holidays, not because of all the things I “have to do” and dislike, but because I wish I could do ALL the Christmas things! I’m like a big kid when it comes to Christmas. My family always made a big deal of everything Christmas, not in an expensive, commercial way, but by creating extravagance out of simple, homemade things, by wrapping each tiny gift (when we were kids, often different pieces of a toy or set were found in separate packages), and just enjoying every little light, song, food and experience.
This is all wonderful and fun, but there comes a time when we have to accept that perhaps our schedule or situation does not allow for doing all of the things. I’ve had to learn to give up certain things (not necessarily forever, but perhaps for a season or two), in order to not burn myself out trying to do it all. And it’s actually a sacrifice for me; but one I’ve learned is better than the stress and tiredness which eventually leads to grumpiness and even sickness.
How precious to learn the art of finding the holy in the holidays. I will remember that as we celebrate again this year. Blessings to all as we discover the true meaning of Christmas…again.
K Ann,
I love how your family created extravagance out of simple, homemade things, by wrapping each tiny gift. That is a powerful life lesson in and of itself. Thank you for sharing!!! May your holidays be holy.
Thanks for sharing. We try to light an advent candle every night a read one scripture passage. It stops my family for the moment and recenters us on the anticipation of Christ who was and who is to come. I understand your comments about clutter and decorating which adds to my stress. Those Martha’s make the world a more beautiful place but when I try to compete I fail. I wrote a blog about my Pinterest Paranoia- feeling the pressure to measure up leads to shame and embarrassment.
Penny,
Thank you for sharing!!! I avoid Pinterest Paranoia by staying far away from Pinterest and all of her expectations…lol. The only time I brave ‘piny,’ is when I need to help my children with school projects.
May your holidays be holy.
My quiet time in the morning is the holy part of my day. Right now I’m digesting and meditating through a book by Joni Eareckson Tada, A Quiet Place in a Crazy World, subtitled Drawing Near to God through Prayer and Praise. It is not an Advent devotional book, but at this time of year it is certainly helpful to spend time in that quiet place within, with Him. Chapter 13 is titled, A Place of Praise, and you’ve provided praiseworthy aspects of Advent and Christmastime for us to be grateful for. I especially appreciated your observation about “this solar shift from darkness to light as a time to celebrate the dawning of a new day in Christ.” ‘Hadn’t thought of Christmas quite like that before! Thank you, Lucretia, and may you enjoy many holy moments as December 25 approaches.
Thank you Nancy!
May your holidays be holy.