“It’s the most wonderful time of year.” It really is. Those aren’t just words from a dusty old Andy Williams Christmas album. Those words are my mantra for the holiday season. I look forward to it. I completely embrace it. The Christmas carols move me. The crowded stores calm me (serenity now…). The excited children (of all ages) make me smile. I enjoy everything about it, pure and simple.
That being said, I feel like I just stepped out of a time machine. I’m struggling just a little to believe that December is the next month popping up on my calendar. What happened to 2017? Where has it gone? I’m not ready for December. I need for it to be June when I’m still looking forward to time on the beach and when I still have plenty of time to catch up on that list of goals that will make this year special. I need more time. I have too many unchecked boxes on my to-do list. Too many books not read. Too many projects not completed (or even started). Too much exercise talked about but not done. That repainting of the boys’ bedroom that still has that horrendous blue paint left over from when two high school Dodger fans shared it (one is now 38 and the other is 34). But it really is almost December. It’s crazy! I think I feel a little stress kicking in!
Stop. Just stop. Don’t slow down. Stop. That shot of adrenaline that just jolted your system is not doing you any good. This year is winding down and will come to its logical conclusion in a few short weeks. Nothing we can do about it. Oh, and by the way, it’s simply not going to be possible to cram everything into the remaining days in any way that you would be proud of. It’s like trying to cram that last item or two into an already overpacked suitcase. It simply won’t work, and the likely result is that by forcing it, you’re going to have an explosion of socks, underwear, shaving cream and toothpaste that will take a lot of time to clean up. Yep, that’s what will happen when you try to cram all those plans, ideas, dreams and projects into a single month. They won’t fit, and the result will likely be some kind of emotional explosion, or implosion that leaves you frustrated, angry and feeling even more helpless.
There is a better approach.
Find some time today to look at that list and repack your year for a shorter trip. Take those things that have been on that list for months and ask yourself what will happen if they don’t get done. If the answer does not impact you or your loved ones in a significantly negative way, maybe they need to be scratched off or at least bumped onto that 2018 list. (And DON’T start that 2018 list today! We’ll talk about that AFTER Christmas). I’m guessing that two-thirds of the outstanding tasks on your list are not as important as you originally thought. So, scratch them. Go ahead. Now, doesn’t that feel better?
The holiday season is busy. No way around it. And it’s busy with a lot of good things. Things such as family, friends, shopping, music, cooking, college football, etc., etc., etc. These are fun things. These are important things. (They may not be life and death, but they are important.) As a matter of fact, they are probably more important than some of those things still remaining on your new trimmed down list. (You did trim it down, didn’t you?) So, that being the case, let’s strike off a few more things on the that new list. Now we’re making real progress. And look at that list again tomorrow and then again the next day, and try to scratch something else off.
Let’s be clear, the goal here is not to leave important things undone. It’s simply to put them in their proper perspective and realize that many are not as important as we originally thought. That leaves time to complete those which really are important and to enjoy the other things that are important as well.
We’re talking about time. I have only so much of it. You have only a limited supply as well. And time is spent, not saved. The question is not do we have time. The question is what are we going to spend it on? When January rolls around and I attack my resolutions and goals with a vengeance, (after all, it’s a new year and we get to start a whole new big list.) what will I remember about the holiday season? Will I remember a season where I fought every day to mark things off my list and where I still didn’t succeed? Will I remember the frustration of too many unchecked boxes on a list? Or will I look back on a blessed time where I took action to spend my time on things that mattered most. Is that really a hard decision? Goals are worthwhile. But we must learn to manage them, and we need to make sure that we don’t let them manage us.
So, can I offer a few suggestions that you may want to add back to your list? Hopefully you’ll agree that these are more important than the things you marked off. I can almost guarantee that they are.
Decorate, even just a little. Start with the tree and branch out (sorry, bad pun).
Read a book. One that makes you feel good, or makes you cry, whichever you prefer. Make sure “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” is on that list!
Watch Christmas movies. If I can endure Hallmark movies with my wife, you can find time to watch at least watch a few of the classics. (Don’t leave “A Christmas Carol” off of your list.)
Visit a person who needs a visit. You know who that person is. They matter, so make them a priority. It can change your life.
Commit a random act of kindness. Pay for that person’s meal who is behind you in the drive-thru. Send a gift card to someone anonymously. Say “thank you” to that sales clerk.
Drop some money in the red kettles. And share more than your loose change. There are people with real needs who are counting on you.
Shop joyfully. You are buying gifts for people you genuinely care about. The gift doesn’t need to be perfect. They’ll appreciate it and you should enjoy buying it for them.
Embrace family, even those who get on your nerves. They are still family, and many have contributed to make you the person you are today.
Meditate on the reason for the season. A Savior is born! The other stuff is secondary, but if we grasp this, and if He really is your Savior, then the other stuff is just better.
Focus on being thankful. You are blessed. A thankful heart brings contentment.
Remember that I mentioned “A Christmas Carol” above? Well hopefully we don’t need an Ebenezer Scrooge experience to understand that we have no assurance of how many Christmases we have left. Life offers no guarantees and today is the best chance we have to make our time count. Every day is special, and every Christmas is special.
Now, stop reading blogs and get started on trimming down that list. Have a blessed and merry Christmas!