LISTEN. (Christmas Break Devotional Series)

[A December Journal Entry]

[Written: 12/15/22]

“LISTEN.”

CHRISTMASTIME IS HERE

Do you feel the moment?

We’re in the real deal, the home stretch, the fullness of the Christmas holiday seems to be setting in upon us softly like a quiet but heavy snow. Ok haha, maybe not to THAT degree of seasonal symbolism, but it occurred to me tonight that for many this is where we enter into (or where we may seem to find ourselves kind of unexpectedly in) the landing phase of our trajectory toward Christmas Day and the ways we plan to celebrate in the days/weeks/etc following. Feels like IT, “the TIME”, is here.

I mean, am I right? The last day of school is upon us, you’re about to pull up at the annual Christmas party you look forward to (or don’t), you’re seeing relieved young adults show up all around the community, returning from the various colleges they had scattered to.  The signs are here. I promise there is a palpable buzz to it all, actually a joy to it, if you’ll look and listen for it…

Yet as you find yourself in the thick of it, your experience and mind frame may vary greatly from mine, as both of ours does from your neighbor down the street, etc. This time is going to find everyone in different places emotionally and mentally, and can hit you in a different way from year to year. For some, this may feel like the roller coaster is now dropping, that you’re about to try and survive all the commitments ahead of you, all the plans to make everyone else’s season special. For others it may be anxiety from all the things you want to do that exceed the actual time that you now realize is left*. There are people who find themselves speeding through the advent calendar but still feeling numb to the “feels” the season had brought in the past. Then, in other folks there is a wonder and joy realizing what is on the horizon; that it is within range, enjoying the journey there in the meantime. I’d wager there are limitless other ways to describe where someone is at the current moment, whether it’s a blend between these examples or in other planes or directions.

Having very real past struggles in coping with the changes of feeling that come with being grown-up, I’ve come to understand that all of these mindsets can be normal and ok to find yourself in, even during this core part of a beloved season. One of the most unhelpful things we can do for ourselves is to wallow in disappointment about the way we feel or to try and “correct” a feeling or experience in our own strength. These can perpetuate a cycle of guilt, disappointment, numbness and a doubt that experiencing this season even matters.

Rather, I’ve come to practice “rolling with” these moments or feelings, but understanding that they don’t define what I’m going to get from this season or my ability to listen/look for the joy around me. Pretty soon I seem to “catch” Christmas after all, mostly in ways I didn’t expect and that may have not been possible had I been so focused on experiencing it the way I planned in my mind.

For some of you this may be way too heady, a little deep to wade in, and no feelings hurt here if so! However, I hope for others who this may resonate with, that you’d know there’s hope in finding a rich experience this time of year, in this part of the holiday journey. As an adult, it’s entirely acceptable and good to be found as the last example in the set of mind frames I described above. For children it is easier to be there, it just sweeps in unexpectedly. So it’s my prayer and aim that you could shift into an openness that allows for that just the same. Joy and wonder are necessary to the soul and to our faith journey. Call me radical, but recovering the innocence and peace we experienced as children at Christmas is NOT impossible. In fact, it may be more refined, more pure in a way…

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

To be available, I’d encourage you to listen. To look. 

My daughter said just yesterday “Dad, I think i have a bad-luck charm.” Curious and laughing a little on the inside, i asked what that meant. “I’m noticing every day in life something bad happens.” Her understanding of “something bad” of course could run the entire gamut of things missing perfection. In this sense, every day has at least one bad thing, you cannot escape it. But that doesn’t define the entirety of our day, we know you can choose to note and remember the myriad of GOOD that goes on in a day as well.  We talked about that in her recognizing a singular bad thing happened on this day, it was also true that a heck of a lot happened that we agreed was great. Funny how recognizing that seems to take more intentionality, and an awareness I need to practice for myself.

What if we actively listened to what’s around us this season? 

True, there will be hurt, hecticness and rudeness you will pick up on. But the songs being sung, the people who give a little more of themselves, the kind greetings that come from strangers here and there are contagious, allowing for someone to pass that kindness on to others. The freedom that comes from being generous. The sound of families being reunited, the joy you pick up on when your own family shares this time in so many ways.

Some may call this “Christmas cheer” but it’s more than what we often make of that term. Sometimes “Christmas cheer” means all the things we pack in during the season and how much of it we do. Believe me, we do all the movies and cookie baking, craft decorating, wrapping, gingerbread fiascos, Christmas lights, mall trips and adventures to festive events possible in this household, and these things truly have been avenues for joy. But we have to tune into something beyond all the lights, colors and hoopla, something more evident in the way spirits are lifted, people are touched, the peace it brings to give a gift of love with no expectation of reciprocation.

Keep your awareness active around kids this week: Listen for that innocent laughter or excitement that comes out when they are surprised. Listen to the way they share about their last days at school, something they want to make etc. Can you hear it? Joy is a REAL thing. As dark, overwhelming and frustrating as this world can be, joy remains… and seems to come from somewhere we can’t place on a map or a diagram of the brain. It’s too pure. Like otherworldly, meant for something greater than we can currently comprehend.

Listen to the words of Jesus during this season and the words of His followers who described Him, who penned this beautiful account of his humility and humanness. What you hear should resonate with the joy I’ve been describing here. Even though God wrapped himself in the most broken of things in creation, grew into adulthood in the midst of a turbulent time and place in history, and would die a death no one would wish on the worst criminal, he taught and lived joy. Not only after the account moves to the Resurrection, but before and during the hardest parts of the story. To me, that is the final evidence, the case-winning last argument for joy. I’d encourage you to look for it there.

 

Finally, certainly the classic carols, along with many solid spirituals since, connect us with this joy Jesus lived. These give us words of appreciation and embrace that we may have a hard time coming up with on our own. Somehow music can open us in the most amazing ways to a song’s lyrics and message. Lean into these, they are rich. There’s something about being part of a greater body of humanity that is both longing for hope and reminding themselves hope has come …

KINDLING OF LIFE

Joy and Wonder - you don’t have to “feel” them right now, and I wouldn’t want you to force yourself to. But will you listen for them? Will you open your heart in a way that you’ll catch them when they become in-tune for you? When your heart-dial hits their frequency, will you embrace the moment they might lead you in?  

Can you appreciate, on this third weekend of December, that we’re all in this phase, together, of navigating the days before one of the largest celebrations the world takes part in? Can you consider compassion for fellow humans who find themselves in this time and empathy for how they might be experiencing it?  

This is a time that so many hearts are unified in aiming toward/looking for the same things, even if we don’t realize it about one another: hope, innocence, joy and wonder. These are the “kindling of life” (as described aptly in a kids series recently), and I believe we can get back to them.

RELATED TO CHECK OUT:

Luke 2:8-20, John 15:9-15, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 1:6-8

Song lyrics by Jason Gray: "Christmas is Coming"

POST SCRIPT

* I’d like to encourage and clarify that if the season is feeling like its fled by or that you only have so much time left to take in this season for what it is, cut yourself some grace and slack now. It is extremely hard to receive or notice beauty in life when we are pressed. Besides, depending your family’s work schedule, traditions or visits planned, everyone’s opportunity to rest their souls in this season is going to be different. Historically the Christian calendar itself doesn’t even consider Christmas a “Season” until Christmas Day through January 5, the 12 days of Christmas and an opportunity to connect with family or rest that really can’t be satisfied with a 24 hour period. Some even hold on a little longer than that haha. Proudly keep Christmas when and as long as you or your family need, despite when commercial and popular messaging may shift around you! It’s something I’ve written about in the past and plan to write about again in the future.