Tis the Season...

I am preparing for the intensive holiday bustle and I find that this season began bustling mid-November. I am not in the home stretch by any, well, stretch...

Children will soon be home from school, last minute presents will need to be located, baking to bake, presents to wrap, decorating to be completed, play dates arranged, post office trips to plan... I am stressed just crafting a cloud-like look at my remaining December. I have stopped and asked myself where I factor into all of this. This time of year more than any other, the focus is on doing, giving, going the extra mile so that God and family are recognized and my love is demonstrated. I have it all on a list but where do I land on this list? I find that I am pushed to the periphery more so than usual. As a mother, wife, full-time employee, home owner, I never place myself on my list so this is a new thought for me.

I have decided that the remaining moments of December will be fueled by preparation for the new - not fueled by fear, inadequacy, stress, or dissatisfaction. Why not stop, purge, let go, not to make room for new stuff that Christmas presents will afford, but to make room and to lighten the load?

I am so busy moving forward and skipping the moment I am in. I am so busy speeding towards the next thing and the following bazillion things that I miss the beauty and the joy in the present moment. What if I stood still and looked around where I am planted? What if I purged and detoxed my life in preparation for the newness that the New Year inevitably brings? What if I spent some moments now, in December, imagining what I would like this next year to be?

By shifting my focus to emptying my house of excess things that others may find joy in, I have lightened my load. My house may not feel like it is bursting with stuff I need to attend to. I might actually feel a light shining on this holiday. A light that comes with all that the Christmas season brings. A lighter step as I live not around stuff but intentionally with my family. An excitement of the newness that is fast approaching. I anticipate the joy that comes with embracing a beautiful and life-centered approach to this holiday season. I can then hug this time of year close to my chest while breathing deep and truly relishing the smell of evergreen that rests in the air.