Hear your sister’s laughter as you share a drink or a cookie.
See your friend’s eyes light up as she opens an adorable gift that you picked out just for her.
Hear the organ or piano or electric guitar playing “Joy to the World” at the Christmas Eve service.
4. And make a choice.
You really do have a choice. Will you stay in your despair, toiling with painful steps? Playing the part of the martyr who is just so busy this season? Or will you actually make an effort to turn it around, see the joy that will happen because of the busyness, and realize that this season will soon be over and you don’t want to miss it??
5. Refuse to complain to others.
I think this is the trickiest part of all. It’s SO EASY to get into those discussions with friends and family about the calendar and to-do list this time of year. To commiserate and grumble together. But what if your attitude during those conversations was different? What if a simple “Yes, isn’t it busy? We finally put up our tree yesterday! But wow my toddler’s face when we turned on those lights… So adorable, I’ll never forget it!”
Imagine how that could change the tone of your conversation.
Peace seems elusive this time of year. But I think it’s because we have it packaged all wrong. We think peace needs to be the absence of chaos and noise. While those mornings with a cup of coffee next to the quiet Christmas tree are beautiful and peaceful, that’s not the only time peace can appear in December.
Peace comes when we take a step back from the urgency and noise of an individual situation and instead look at the big picture. The chaos will not last forever. Tilt into these busy activities for a season, knowing they are amazing gifts this time of year. Acknowledge the stress, but don’t stay there.
A couple of years ago my husband took the lyrics to “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and set it to a different, more fitting tune — Fernando Ortega’s “Our Great God”. The best part? He also included the refrain in the arrangement. It makes the lyrics pop so much more.
All ye beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low
Who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow
Look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing!
Oh rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing:
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
If the angels could speak of God’s goodness and peace in the midst of the upheaval in the world that day, so can we.
(Another Christmas song about despair and peace with a tune that I don’t think fits the lyrics is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” This version by Casting Crowns has become one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs.)
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“It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.” -Ecclesiastes 5:18 NLT
