Whirlwind December

After many whirlwind Decembers, with the focus so heavily on things material, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that January often feels like a wasteland of disappointments and never enough.

(The Land of Less - pg 16)

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Does the holiday season often feel like a whirlwind of too much? Do you find your time, your wallet and your headspace extended beyond what is comfortable? Beyond what you ever remember agreeing to?

I understand that feeling. And I relate to the overwhelm. I also know that place of getting caught up in the grasping, the needing and the wanting that happens in this season.

We are embarking on that pocket of time where there is an influx of the commercial push to consume. The Black Friday sale signs are screaming in our faces and the Christmas marketing ploys are tugging on our heartstrings in hopes that we will tug on our wallets to buy more.

Gosh it’s hard to reign it in, isn’t it? I just want to be surrounded by tidings of comfort and joy. Don’t you? And aren’t we entitled to feed this ache inside, even if just to feel that momentary happiness? Don’t we deserve it? Especially after the year that 2020 has dealt us…

Oh, friend. I feel it. And my answer to this commiserating is, yes. You can do all those things; the choice is certainly yours! We can choose to feed the insatiable beast of want for a momentary pleasure, but be forewarned that she will come back for more. She is relentless in her needing, wishing, wanting. And she will devour your joy, your spirit and your bank account in one foul swoop.

I am no stranger to these choices. Year after year, for three and a half decades I made certain choices in hopes to be filled with something new and fulfilling. Not realizing the insanity I was perpetuating. Repeating the same behaviour over and over expecting a different result. And you know what? Never fail, the crash and burn after this whirlwind December of overindulgence would overcome me. Send me into the January wasteland of disappointment and never enough.

The high is never as great as the crash is low. And so, if you are looking for something different this year, on behalf of the truth you need to hear today, I would like to extend an olive branch. I would like to reconcile you to the thing that can break the cycle of insanity this time of year. Something I have come to live by on a regular basis. And the truth is this: to experience joy, peace and love this holiday season, you must make room for it.

Now pause and ponder that thought…

There...did you feel that? In that small pause did you notice something? Something small yet significant. Maybe you’re not sure. But in that place where you allowed yourself to pause, you made space. Space to welcome in something new. In the pause you allowed the busyness and the noise to separate from you, even if just for a moment. You created space to let go of the chaos. And in the letting go you made room. Room for something new to be birthed.

I know the pull is real. I know it is easy to get side tracked if I'm not careful. My social media feeds tell me the story of lack in my life. How my Christmas decorating isn’t designer enough or the base of my tree isn’t filled with enough presents. How our family portrait this year isn’t showcasing the perfection everyone else seems to be experiencing. This story of not enough tells me that, ultimately, I’m not enough. I grasp for more in hopes to ease the feeling of never enough.

And so, when you feel the insatiable beast attempting to pull you under, remind yourself that joy, peace and love are not that far away. The simplicity of tapping into them is right at your fingertips. Even in the midst of this yearly whirlwind, there is good news to be had. You do not have to remain stuck. You don’t have to wear yourself out with misery and overwhelm. There is a choice that you can make for yourself.

Come and be still.

Come and rest.

Come and dwell in that place where all is calm and all is bright.

Come and make room. Make room to breathe. Make room to behold the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger.

With a little intention and a heart wide open, you can make room for whatever comfort and joy you long for this Christmas season.