"Busy" is not a Season's Greeting

"It's that time of year again!" Depending on how you feel, you may read that sentence in one of two ways... with joy or exasperation! The Christmas season is often a time when our calendars fill up with any number of activities, events, and obligations well beyond what we would allow any other time of the year. What with all the parties, dinners, shopping, decorating, baking, writing, wrapping, caroling, etc. etc. it's no wonder that Christmas is often met with an overwhelming feeling of busyness!

The other day as I was in the midst of carrying a load of packages to my car, I ran into an acquaintance I hadn't seen in a while. I stopped of course, but almost dreaded the question I knew was inevitably to follow, "Hi there! How are you!?" And what to my wondering ears would appear, but the cold, unjoyful word spilling from my lips was, "oh, you know, busy!" 

It was almost involuntary - a response I've given a thousand times especially around the Holidays, but this time there was something unusually poignant about that word. This year, that word flew in the face of all I have been hearing in my prayers and devotionals. I have made special effort to meditate on the various gifts of Advent. As we wait on the Lord hope, peace, love, joy and faith arise in our spirits to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Messiah.

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Faith are gifts from God which He gives to us as we make room in our hearts for His presence. These are the things that I want to be filled with during the Advent season leading up to Christmas, (that's why we teach about them and mediate on them). When something unexpected comes along, I want hope, peace, joy, love and faith to be on my lips, not stress, worry or busyness!

This Holiday Season, I am officially making (the "b" word) a BAD word! If I want to answer someone with the B word, it's my own fault for filling this sacred time of abiding in Jesus with too many worldly things that leave no room for His presence! Instead of perpetuating the anxiety and the stress that comes with busyness, I would like to spread the hope, peace, joy and love that come with spending time and waiting on the Lord.

Will you spend more time in His presence this Advent? Will you join me in making the "b" word a BAD word? Let's intentionally make room for Jesus in the manger of our hearts and humble our self-imposed expectations of what this season is "supposed" to be like. We would do this any other time of the year, why do we throw caution to the wind when it's Christmas time? This is the very season for Christians to shine that light of Jesus, but we can only do it by making more room for Him in our lives!

Pray with me: "Lord, thank you so much for Christmas. Thank you for reminding us every year how you prepared the hearts of Elizabeth, Zechariah, John, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds. You didn't prepare the earth for your Son with any sort of fanfare or decoration. The King of the World was wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a manger of hay.

Humble our hearts to lay down our self-imposed expectations so that we can have more time in Your Presence. I pray that your Holy Spirit will remind us to quiet our souls and to greet our neighbors with the gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Faith this Holiday Season so that we can feel less busy and more blessed! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!"

December 12, 2024 by Pastor Amanda