Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? Are your halls all decked?
I haven’t — and mine are not. I also haven’t flipped over to the radio station playing non-stop Christmas music since it began a couple weeks ago, and I’ve only bought two presents.
Christmas craft tutorials seem to make me twitchy this year, and a conversation about finding a date for my favorite family gathering of the year left me in tears.
It seems I’ve lost my holiday spirit.
I know it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I know! But while I’m not quite up to Grinch status yet, I’m definitely not feeling holly or jolly about the upcoming festivities I normally look forward to each December.
The holidays can be hard. Sometimes our circumstances color how we handle special days and everyday days and all the days in between. But sometimes, for no reason at all, it might just be hard to find your holiday spirit. And when that happens, what do you do? Well, I’m still working through this, searching for a spark of holiday spirit myself. But here are a few things I’ll be trying this week.
Cut the clutter.
Don’t worry. I’m not suggesting you deep clean the house or alphabetize your spices. No need to start that craziness ’til January, am I right? But it’s possible that clearing some space in your life might open up room for Christmas — and, yes, for Christ.
I know for me, a messy dining room table (and, you all, it is almost ALWAYS a mess) makes it much harder for me to be productive. I see the mess and I get overwhelmed and I don’t know where to start with anything and, well, nothing gets done.
The same is true in just about every area of my life. If I have too much still-haven’t-dealt-with-it junk in my heart, I can’t find time to pray. And even if I do, I find that time empty and lacking any real connection with God.
So whether it’s physical clutter (Yes, FINE, it’s time for me to finally organize my basement!), calendar clutter (We RSVP’d to HOW MANY Christmas parties?!), or heart clutter, take a few minutes to cut it out. Clear a space for peace and joy — and to receive the Gift of this season.
Look at the world through a child’s eyes.