Christmas

As you no doubt have noticed, the rush of Christmas is here.

For me, this time of year brings about a dozen special concerts, performances, and worship services, which means additional planning meetings, late-night rehearsals, extra e-mails and phone calls coordinating musicians and their holiday traveling schedules, special music to learn, charts to prepare, and creative components to implement and execute. For most of us there are end-of-the-year meetings and Christmas parties happening almost every night. Some stack on top of that final exams, final papers, and final decisions about next year: classes to register for, budgets to turn in, and resolutions to be made about spending more time with family. We all go Christmas shopping for other people's Christmas lists and still manage to pick up what's needed for our own Christmas decorating for hosting our Christmas meals, all of which is fueled by our favorite Christmas coffee- coffee that requires a deeper (Christmas) mug with each door opened on the Advent calendar- the calendar that reminds us that although Christmas is "only" 7 days away, those 7 days will actually feel like one really long day when it's all said and done, just like October and November did.

But I'll stop there before this makes us even more weary. Here's the advice I'm giving myself, maybe you'll find it helpful too:

It's going to be a crazy week- it will help a lot if you can just accept that now.

These will be loooong days with little sleep. Pour another cup of Santa's White Christmas and smile because pretty soon you'll be on vacation at the beach with a book you've always wanted to read but couldn't because of all the books you had to read. And don't turn your cell phone on silent, that's not even close to good enough. Drop that stupid thing in the junk drawer at home and leave it a million miles behind- along with the notion that you might be "needed" while you're away. No one needs you. Go on vacation and be on vacation.

Finally, although it can't be said without stepping into a cliche, don't forget that super-human productivity is not what you were created for. No matter how many flocks of sheep you're tending right now, so to speak, or how many miles away you may feel, remember that the Light of the World is there in the dark, noisy, and far-too-overcrowded manger of your heart and He wants your worship more than your work.

God, give us grace to put no confidence in the flesh and to be satisfied in your spiritual rest.