Christmas season can sometimes get more stressful than joyful for some of us. Overspending on gifts, end-of-the-year reports, travel itineraries, accountabilities and even inability to be home for the holidays can overwhelm us.
Every time my holiday season becomes overwhelming, I am greatly comforted by the fact that God wants me to be joyous this season (and, yes every other season as well).
When the season starts getting overwhelming, just remember that there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy family, friends and life during the holidays. Here are six ways that you can make the most of your holidays.
1. Spend It With Family and Friends
Gifts, dinners and vacations are not to be the main reason for celebration. Earthly possessions are great, but they are nothing compared to the joyous blessing of family and friends. God made us to be relational beings and even commands us to live a lifestyle of building relationships and loving one another (John 13:34).
2. Take Advantage of Focusing on Other's Needs
The best part of the holidays isn't the receiving, but the giving. Just like Acts 20:35 tells us "...It is more blessed to give than to receive..." Instead of focusing on what we're going to get this season, why not set aside time and resources to give to the community and meet the needs of others?
3. Meditate on the Nativity Story
The true meaning of Christmas is Christ. It's a great reminder of the wonderful news that our saviour was born into this world to set us free from sin and iniquity. Taking time to meditate on the nativity story is a great idea to truly celebrate the reason for the season—Jesus.
4. Celebrate the Intangibles
Gifts are not the things that are of greatest value to us. Matthew 6:19 tells us, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." The greatest gifts are things that money cannot buy, and those are what bring the most joy and happiness to us.
5. Invest Into Yourself
It's not a sin to treat yourself. Think of the holidays as celebrating the win of holding fast to what God called you to do this year. God wants us to invest and take care of ourselves just as much as we love others (Mark 12:31).
6. Rest
Holidays are seasons of sabbatical rest that restores our souls and bodies as we approach God once more in worship and thanksgiving. Honouring the Sabbath is serious business to God, and the holiday season is a great way to experiencing God's rest.
