Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. The dishes are done, the house is quiet, and my cats are arranged around me, sleeping. I’m grateful for this pause before the Christmas happenings start, well, happening. Sometimes I feel like I go to bed on Thanksgiving and wake up on January 2nd, dazed and wondering exactly how the holidays flew by so fast. I want to say, “No, wait! I wasn’t done with you yet! Stay for a minute longer so I can enjoy you!” This year has been such a beautiful space in time for me that I want to end it in a purposeful way. So tonight, before I start spinning headlong into Christmas, I’m going to stop for just a moment and ask myself a question: What do you want for Christmas? What do you really want for Christmas this year, and how will you make that happen?
I want to dive in to Christmas this year. Some years I don’t; I’ve admitted to missing many holidays because of bad choices. Other years, I just crave peace. This year, I want to squeeze every possible moment of Christmas joy out of the season. I want to relish every holiday tradition, watch every Christmas movie, listen to all of my favorite Christmas music, and put Christmas collars on my boys. I want moments that will become memories—moments with Monty and our family. I want to end this wonderful year in a celebration of gratitude for all that God gave me in it. I’m all in. And I will silence my inner Grinch who has a nasty habit of whispering, “Don’t get too happy. January’s coming. If you have too much fun now, it will seem more dark and January-ish than ever.” No Grinch for me this year; life is simply too beautiful.
So that’s what I want for Christmas—all the beauty that I can gather from every moment. What do you want? If you want a quiet, peaceful holiday, think about what you can eliminate. If you want a month-long celebration, decide what that will look like, and make purposeful decisions about what you will and won’t do. Visualize the Christmas season you want, and decide what you really don’t want. January is coming—and it will be such a shame to wake up on January 2nd and wonder where Christmas went. So take a quiet moment today and pray over the coming season. Then take a deep breath and get ready: it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Don’t let it fly by.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is writing a poem each year. This one is from a couple of years ago:
My Bethlehem
—Renee Adele Phillips
For centuries they waited,
Hungry and desperate for a word from You.
But darkness descended again and again;
Absolute silence marked each day
Until at last
Dawn broke over Bethlehem.
The Son broke through the darkness
And shattered the silence with a baby’s cry.
A staggering miracle: God with them,
God with us.
And still You said,
“You shall see greater things than this.”
O God, let me see them!
Show me my Bethlehem, my sunbreak.
When I slip into darkness and hear only silence,
Turn me back to You,
The first bright star of morning,
And let me see with my own eyes
The breaking of dawn.
Let me daily witness “greater things than this”
And become so absorbed by the wonder of You
That I live in Your light, hearing Your voice
Until that day when, at last,
I shall see Heaven.
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Comments 2
Wow, love it and such perfect timing , While you were writing this piece, I was actually setting up my Christmas tree and other decorations and at the same time watching Christmas movies. In America it was your black Friday, which has slowly crept into Canada to some degree, a day that upsets me, just like what we call boxing day here ( the day after Christmas). Both days leave a bad taste in my mouth and I avoid them at all cost— so I put up my tree, burnt lights and candles and enjoyed the peace and quiet as I got into the mood of what Christmas is all about. In Holland, we have no boxing day but two days of Christmas, the first day more sober and holy, the next day church with choirs. There are no presents on Christmas, just family, food and gatherings and I love it that way. I wish I had read your post last night, it was a perfect compliment to how I felt. Thanks Renee, we are so similar in certain ways!
Klara, it sounds so peaceful at your house! I, too, abhor the tradition of black Friday–and the way that people fight and riot just to get “good deals.” Christmas in Holland sounds idyllic. I love the idea of two days for Christmas, especially a sober, holy day. It would be wonderful to have a day like that to reflect and pray. Thank you for reading, my friend. Love to you.