It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Christmas lights, the songs of the season, memories in the making. What could be better?
If you’re a mom, especially a mom who wants things to be just-so for her kids, this time of year may be wonderful. Or it may be flat out exhausting. There are trees to be decorated, wreaths to hang (or maybe still make), gift lists to plan, sales to watch, meals to make, cookies to bake, candles to light. Go. Go. Go.
We’re so hurried and worried about making sure that everything is perfect for everyone else. We want our kids to soak in sweet memories of everything wonderful that Christmas can be. But what about you? Are YOU soaking in the wonder of the season? Or are you too busy untangling the next string of lights to enjoy the ones twinkling on the tree?
I wonder if we’re so busy creating the perfect atmosphere for our families that we’re missing it. Are we part of the memories that our kids are making? Or will their Christmas memories include a blur of Mom rushing from one task to the next? We might set the stage for Christmas activities and fun, but if we don’t allow ourselves to stop and fully take part in those activities, what’s the point? Our haste may be costing us more than we realize.
Today I sequestered myself in the office, headphones on, Christmas music playing, on a mission to tackle some of my ever-growing to-do list. I was plowing through the list when I found myself humming along to ‘What Child is This?’ by Mannheim Steamroller. I know it’s all instrumental, but this line made its way through my mind….
Haste, haste to bring Him laud….
Hurry, hurry to bring Him praise! Hmm… While we’re all in a tizzy to hurry, hurry, decorate, bake, shop, wrap, craft, and more, are we hurrying to bring Him praise?
What if we rushed to the manger like we rush to the mall? <– Click to tweet this.
This Christmas, my prayer for all of us is that we’ll slow down and soak it in. The only hurrying we’ll do is to the manger where we’ll open our hearts in worship and then carry that to our families. We’ll sit with them and watch the lights twinkle on the tree. We’ll read Christmas stories. We’ll tell them again and again about a tiny baby who came to save the world. We’ll stop hurrying to make sure everything is perfect and just be part of the sweet Christmas memories.
I loved this – I was contemplating this myself as my hubby tries to plan our days out to the minute to get all the stuff done – PHOOEY! I want to enjoy……slow down….and even sit in His presence just a bit longer!
Do it! Just sit. Enjoy. Worship. Relax. Soak it all in. (And I’m saying that to you as much as I am to myself. 🙂 )