You would think that after living through a pandemic things would slow down and find a steady pace. If that were true, why does this holiday season feel so hectic already? I have found it to be considerably hard to hush the hurry. Even post pandemic, our culture in a society where we jam pack as much as we can into the most sacred of sacred holidays at the cost of our peace and finances . We are constantly pressured to purchase even if it means going into debt and shop till our bank account literally drop. 

If that wasn’t enough pressure, we are also expected to attend or host the greatest of greatest holiday parties. Favorite Things Party, Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, White Elephant Exchange, Sock Exchange. The simple, harmless act of Christmas parties was to see our family and friends and break bread together in light of our Savior’s arrival. Now even holiday parties are squeezing money out of us, packing our calendars and stealing our sanity.

If it’s something that we can pencil in to our agenda, and find a reason to buy a new dress or sweater and spend more money, then why not it’s Christmas right? Christmas has become a marketer’s dream and a retailer’s gold mine, and we fall for it every year, don’t we? The hurry and hustle during this season feels like it gets more and more intense each year and I can’t help but think it’s a ploy to distract us from the Holy in the holiday, Jesus.

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

This year my goal for my family and for my soul is to hush the hurry our world has created around this Holy Holiday. That means not going outside of our means to send loved ones presents or to buy something just because it’s on sale. It  means not going to every single holiday party I get invited to so I don’t have to buy one more dress, one more ugly Christmas sweater or one more gag gift. I am committing to attend two parties, and I will attend them with a thankful heart and cheer in my spirit. I refuse to stack my calendar so full to the point where I over exhaust myself and neglect to feed my soul. I want my soul and spirit to be filled with reflecting on our Wonderful Counselor, and our Mighty God.

I want to encourage you to imagine what it would look like to hush the hurry of the holiday in your heart, in your calendar and in your home. For me that means implementing reflection and meditation. It means setting a tight budget for what I spend this season and not over stretching myself to attend a party. It means journaling my prayers of thankfulness. It can look like a lot of different things to different people and that’s okay. Let’s make this Christmas different and not fall into the trap of hurry. This season, find the Holy and not the hurry.