The Christmas Rush

          As I was unwrapping each piece of our family’s nativity set from the tissue paper and putting it out for display, God spoke to my heart.  I put baby Jesus in the middle.  All the other characters and creatures were around HIM.  The Lord quietly said, “That’s the way it should be always…Jesus as the focus”.  It was a simple message, but oh, the truth packed into that one statement.

          Is Jesus the focus of your Christmas season?  Your life?

          I’ll come back to that question in a minute.

          I apologize for not communicating for so long.  My hubby and I went to NYC the day after Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful time – walked our legs off, but we went to Macy’s and shopped in the craziness on Black Friday.  We ate authentic NY pizza, dodged the crowds, went to two Broadway plays (get tickets back in August, and they are so much cheaper) and ended our trip seeing the Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall.  The Rockettes never disappoint! 

          On the plane home, Norman started coughing.  I knew then it wasn’t good.  I slept in the guest room when we got home.  The next morning, he had it full blown. We didn’t know what “it” was until he took a Covid test the next day.  He was positive!!  I thought I dodged the bullet as I slept in the guest room, didn’t kiss him or get close and wiped everything down.  But in a couple of days, I had the same fever, chills, cough and fatigue.  Thankfully, we both got over it in 3-5 days.  Our coughs have lingered.

          All that to say, because of both of us being sick, the plans I had of being early with everything for Christmas slowly evaporated.  I was in the midst of doing a long-term substitute job at the elementary school where I work.  The teacher had major surgery, and when I was asked if I would consider working for her, I knew in my spirit God called me to do it.  I spent time praying about it, but there was no doubt.  He wanted to fulfill this role. 

          Working full-time the end of November and most of December certainly impacted my “to do” list.  How about you? 

  Are you experiencing the Christmas rush?  Are you so busy with making lists, trying to get your home “just so” with inside and outside decorations, shopping, baking and cooking that you’ve lost the real reason for the season?

          Is your mind so cluttered with thinking about gifts for everyone on your list – or you’re so busy scurrying around doing many “Christmas” things that there’s not much time for intimacy with the Savior?

          The other week, I asked the Lord, “What’s wrong with me?”  I get up at 5 am so I can have time with the Lord, but it just wasn’t working.  Oh, I had my devotions, prayer time and read my Bible.  But I still felt, um… empty.  Does that ever happen to you?  I was going through the motions, but my mind was elsewhere.

          I prayed and asked the Lord to help me focus on HIM…His character, His faithfulness and who He is…not just what He does and gives me.  I also had to ask that He would help me take every thought captive.  It’s not that I was thinking on “bad things”.  It’s just that my mind was so preoccupied with my “to-do” list or “priorities” for that day.  I had to ask the Lord to reset my priorities.  Have you been there, my friend?

          I had to be intentional to get back that closeness with the Lord.  I lifted songs of praise to the Lord and confessed my need for Him.

          My pastor quite frequently will break into song during a sermon.  One of the songs he sings on a regular basis from the pulpit is “I Need Thee”.  During this time of feeling disconnected from the Lord, I sang this song every morning.  I was in the midst of this long-term substitute job during this time.  I loved the kids in the class, but a few children made this job extremely challenging.  So, the words of this familiar hymn were so true.

          “I Need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord.  No tender voice like thine can thee afford.  I need thee. Oh, I need thee.  Every hour I need thee.  Oh, bless me now, My Savior, I come to thee.”  Afterwards, I prayed and told God that I knew I couldn’t do anything meaningful “apart from Him”.  I couldn’t get through my day without Him.  I think that was one of the purposes of me taking this assignment.  God wanted to show me that even with years of experience under my belt, I still needed to rely on Him daily.  This ritual of singing and confessing helped bring me closer to the Father.

          But I think one of my “take aways” from this assignment was that the Lord reminded me I need to be fixated on Him daily.  My mindset needs to be “I Need Thee” every day, no matter what I’m doing. 

          Even today, I felt overwhelmed.  After being sick, I’m still playing catch up for Christmas.  The Holy Spirit reminded me this AM that I’ll continue to feel stressed and overwhelmed if I don’t rest in Him.  I need to make a conscious effort to “give all my cares to the Lord” (I Peter 5:7) and turn to Him as the Bread of Life.  Just as I need bread to physically thrive, I need the Lord Jesus to thrive spiritually.  There’s no substitute for Him. How are you doing in this area?  Are you trying to navigate life on your own?

          There’s something about our society that elevates or admires people who are self-sufficient.  But God calls us to be just the opposite.  To admit to Him that we can’t do life on our own…and more importantly, that we need Him.  I confessed that to the Lord again this morning.  His peace came over me.  This verse came to mind in Psalm 18:29-32.  “With your help, I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.  As for God, his way is perfect:  The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in Him.”  The implication is WITHOUT the Lord, you can’t accomplish much of anything!

          I don’t know about you.  But I’ve been struggling lately to keep this mindset.  I want to constantly live in submission and reliance on the Lord.   

          Back to my original question from my nativity experience.  Is Jesus your focus this holiday season?

          Is Jesus your focus for life?  Are you making decisions, setting your priorities and scheduling events based on His desires/purposes or your own?

          At this time of the year, I think it’s of utmost importance to pause and think about these questions.  The older I get, the more I want to love Him, serve Him and my entire purpose for living to be to do His will and bring glory to Him.  I pray yours is the same.

          And I will add, I WANT to live for Him in theory.  But my follow-through is sometimes lacking.  I’m thankful for a God who convicts and redirects my steps.  He is ALWAYS that loving parent who shows me when I’m off course and need to get back in alignment.

          I’m all over the place with this Christmas post.  But this I know…all these random thoughts were for at least ONE person out there in blog land reading this.  God put you on my heart!

          I pray this Christmas season will be meaningful, and you and the Savior will have intimate fellowship.  Merry CHRISTmas!