‘Tis the season to be joyful. Yet, even as I write that it makes me dreadfully anxious. What will likely bring me joy in the next month will be a few quiet times with my family and friends. However, I will spend most of my days planning, decorating, driving, purchasing, wrapping, rushing, and stressing over getting it all done. None of which bring me joy.
So today, in the threshold of the holidays, I asked to see this in a different way. What came to me was this, ’tis the season to be joyful is not so much a command as it is an attitude suggestion. Joyful, after all, is not just a feeling-it’s a choice. I can choose to do the planning, decorating, driving, purchasing and wrapping with joy. Assuming of course, that I don’t forget this resolve as soon as it all gets underway.
To keep my “joy on” I will have to remember a few key holiday survival tips. Eliminate, consolidate and delegate. By eliminating the things that are not important, combining a few events, and dishing out a to-do list to a willing youth looking for holiday money, I will minimize what needs to be done, so I can do it with glee.
Okay, I’m ready. ‘Tis the season…bring it on!
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So many of us feel the same way you do in your first paragraph, where has the joy gone. After reading the book Everything That Remains, I realized that I had it all wrong.
While the season is something I have always looked forward to; one year my husband asked me to ditch it all and come away with him. What! I exclaimed, I cannot do that,! I will disappoint everyone. Please just come away with me this one time he asked again.
Begrudgingly I went and something magical happened. I had the most wonderful Christmas of my whole life. It did not include paying an enormous amount of money for a tree that would die in two weeks, or the agony of buying gifts that no one really liked or would use, or planning and killing myself by preparing a meal that would get gobbled up in less than 30 minutes with hours remaining to clean it all up.
Since that one magical year, I have slowly changed my children’s (daughter in particular) minds on traveling for Christmas instead of all the traditional stuff. Two years ago my family went to Palm Springs, CA to celebrate our first non traditional Christmas. Again something magical happened, we all had the best time and still speak of it today. A beautiful memory was made.
This year I am taking my daughter on a mini trip and when we return home it will be me and my husbands turn.
My decorating has been cut in half, our tree is now the $10 Charlie Brown tree that no one wants and I decorate it with just strands of lights. It is beautiful and everyday I see it, I remind myself that Christmas is about remembering Christ’s’ birth and being with the ones you love and enjoying God’s beauty in the land that he created for us.
My joy has returned, my husband had it right all this time and I love him for showing me a simpler and happier way to enjoy the season. Merry Christmas – Lisa
Lisa,
What a beautiful story you have shared here. It is amazing how the joy of the season can emerge when we remove ourselves from the trappings of a commercial holiday. I applaud you and your husband for starting the tradition to get-away from it all and enjoy the company of one another. Love flourishes when water with simplicity! Happy Holidays!