As the holidays approach, stress usually brews. The endless parties to attend, the school programs and concerts, presents to buy and wrap, dwindling checkbook register figures, traffic, baking, and figuring out family plans. The missing ingredient is often the joy of Christmas.

What comes to mind is the drama I wrote a few years back about the dysfunctional Funk family trying to get through the holidays. The eldest daughter named Joy, was anything but joyful yet she tried to make everything perfect to ensure there would be joy … but everything fell apart. Isn’t that how we operate sometimes? We strive to have things in order or find a resolution to a problem to ensure we will have peace, joy, and happiness. Yet we’re losing the battle. If only life was so cut, dry, and simple.

I find that this journey in life isn’t about resolutions to problems, but in finding the joy, peace, and happiness in our lives that God offers regardless of our situation. That is far easier said than done, because life gets messy sometimes.

So how do we find the joy this holiday season regardless of our circumstances?

1. Keep Perspective: Pick up God’s point of view rather than our own. That requires we first step back from the emotions of a situation and allow ourselves to view it from a wider angle. Then we can look to see what God wants us to learn.
2. Keep Breathing: We may have overscheduled ourselves and it can’t be changed now, but we can make a conscious choice to take a few minutes out for ourselves to breathe and relax. It helps us to do #1 above. Take a longer shower in the morning and just relax in those extra minutes or unwind from your day by reading before you go to bed. Understand we need to chill out each day before we can tackle the next day with calm and perspective.
3. Remember the Reason: Remember what Christmas is about. It’s not about presents, parties, programs, full schedules, finances, or even family gatherings. Christmas is about remembering the greatest gift of all – Jesus Christ! It’s the time we celebrate His birth knowing He came to earth to live and die just so we could have life everlasting with Him. What a gift!

So go ahead and receive the joy, peace, and happiness that comes from this greatest gift of Jesus Christ. It’s not dependent on your circumstances and isn’t something you have to add to your bursting schedule. Celebrate the JOY this Christmas.

Last evening I went to a bookstore coffee shop and stood at the counter to order my coffee. No workers were around so I stood waiting … and waiting. I looked for a bell to ring for service. There was none. My mind wandered to all I could accomplish if someone was at the counter and I was already seated. I waited longer and then smiled–once again my impatience reared its ugly head.

Our world has become so fast paced that standing in line for a few minutes with no one around to serve us seems like an eternity.

Our technology today does not help. Rather than wait for a letter to arrive in the mail, we routinely check email for the quick response. Rather than wait for the scheduled time slot to watch a movie, we search On-Demand and watch whatever we want whenever we want. And that does not even compare to the instant options available to us when it comes to cell phones today. All these gadgets can make us an impatient society bothered by having to wait for anything.

Now, I have to admit I like On-Demand and the quick responses of email but I find that it is hard not to carry the right-now mentality into the rest of my life. Such as:

          Why cannot our children obey instantly?

          Why cannot dogs be instantly trained?

          Instant answers to prayers would be nice.

Unfortunately, life does not work that way. I find the gotta-have-it-right-now attitude rubs against the fabric of how life works and creates a few holes.

At times I am unknowingly edgy when my daughter needs teaching in an area rather than instantly knowing what she should do. I am unnecessarily frustrated at our dog that cannot learn to heel on the first or second walk. And I wonder where God is when I think He has missed a few opportunities to answer my prayers.

I find I need a constant post-it note on my forehead reminding me that much of the best of life comes in the waiting, the discovering, the unearthing, and yes most importantly … the journey.

When I remember this, I find such incredible treasures along the way–my daughter takes flight once she has the tools taught to her that she needs, I learn to rest in the sovereign plan of God knowing that He is in control and I do not have to be. And our dog … well, she is in process and an exercise of my patience at every evening walk. She will catch on soon enough.

What treasure will you discover today?

To watch my daughter clean her room is synonymous with watching someone overflow with excitement about life. However, she hates to clean her room. I share her aversion to cleaning, but taught her early on how to push through the undesirable tasks — crank up the music!

Music has a way of offering a different focus as you do the unlikable.

As she picks up items off the floor singing away, she stops briefly when the beat hits just right so she can burst into a musical dance break. She grabs an invisible microphone as she watches herself dance in the mirror. As the music flows through the house, I cannot help but bounce, tap, and sway where I am at as well. It is infectious.

I guess it all goes back to where we put our focus. What would happen if we robbed our dislikes of their misery and just turned up the music, let loose, and danced? If you have a teen, the dancing may need to be isolated to your home so no embarrassment is inflicted upon them … or perhaps that is just how my daughter feels. 🙂