Are You Overjoyed or Overwhelmed This Christmas?

I have a confession to make. You ready? Here it is: Christmas isn’t always my favorite holiday. Now I promise I’m certainly not a Scrooch, but if I’m honest, for the last few years I’ve actually felt a little inner dread as December has approached. First, let me say that I LOVE the reason for the season! I desire to celebrate our Savior’s birth! Plus I enjoy giving gifts, making memories, and baking alll the cookies. But it’s the stress of Christmas being overpacked, over-commercialized, and just down right overwhelming that can suck the joy right out of the season.

Earlier this fall I began to pray and prepare my heart for the holidays. I wanted so badly for it to be that time of spiritual reflection and celebration it’s meant to be. I wanted the JOY. And you know what? God first gave me a peace which turned into joy and eventually I was actually looking forward to ALL of Christmas!

I love a good Christmas Advent devotional and have enjoyed several different ones throughout the years. They provide a quiet moment each morning during December to settle and refocus my mind and heart. I also love Ruth Chou Simons’s artwork and spiritual writings. Her watercolors are absolutely stunning! So, when I saw that she had a Christmas devotional out this year, I knew this would be my Advent for the year.

On December 1st I read the first devotional of Emmanuel: An Invitation to Preparing Him Room at Christmas and Always which right off the bat reveals the key to being overjoyed rather than overwhelmed during the holidays and it starts with approaching Christmas with the right posture. Ruth explains that just as our physical posture reveals our readiness for whatever task is at hand, the posture of our hearts determines our “approach and trajectory on any journey”.

“And so, as we begin this Advent journey, we begin with our posture, because how we enter this season affects how we will receive this season.”

Posturing our heart for the season requires us to change any expectations we may have for Christmas to an expectancy of God’s presence in the season. Expectancy is the hope of something wonderful about to happen! Like the psalmist in Psalm 130 displayed a confident expectancy of how God would be present for him, would hear him, would protect, provide for, and bless him in his distress, we too can posture our hearts with that knowledge that God will show up for Christmas in glorious ways, just as He showed up in the form of a baby in manger, entering this world to save us from our sins and offer eternal life!

If nothing else…if the cookies don’t get delivered, if we don’t see the family we want to see, if we’re lonely, if we’re sick and miss all the events, or we’re exhausted because we’re going to all the events…..if nothing else, we have the gift of JESUS. He’ll show up and be present. Approaching the holidays with expectancy is joyfully waiting on the Lord. It’s stopping in the midst of the busy schedules, tasks, and parties to enjoy and soak up Jesus, the miracle of His birth, and His presence in our lives. It turns our hearts from the expectations of what we get out of the season to the expectancy of our Savior!

“When we turn from the expectations to being expectant, we will never be disappointed because God never disappoints.”

I hope this offers some encouragement in your Christmas this year. I know it has for me and I’m ready and jumping in the season with all my heart and joy!

Before I end, I have to show one of the beautiful paintings from Ruth’s book. Really, I wish I could show you all of them because every page is a little gift of art, but maybe you can get the book for yourself and pick up with the devotional for where you are in December.

Have a wonderful Sunday, friends! Let’s go worship our Savior with JOY!