Christmas in the Trenches
When you woke up this morning, you saw correctly - it is ONE WEEK until Christmas Day. Far be it from me to induce any more anxiety, for any of you, and hopefully by now you know my intentions are to help us all catch some oxygen during this season. Unfortunately, however, we are all bound to the same calendar and the exact measurement of the length of each day, so one of the real life and relatable ways in which we can find common ground together has to be discussed. Each of us finds ourselves in what can be effectively called, in the adult world, CRUNCH TIME.
Crunch time is when many of us do our best work though, right? Deadlines tend to help people be productive, and I’d say there’s a fair bit of us that can testify firsthand about the superhuman way our adrenaline and focus seem to get us by in the nick of time, over and over.
I should know, it’s been the same way for me for years at Christmas time. I have an insane amount of things it seems I need to accomplish (including plenty of ideas I’ve cooked up) and at some point I realize how much time is left. Like a boxing match pre-charged with energy and anticipation, I sound the bell for my focus to kick in and push myself forward with all that I have. It’s go-time, the stretch to pour all-in, make the things happen, watch it all come together.
There’s a well known scene common to both of the Home Alone movies that always catches my attention and also gets me fired up. In the first one, Kevin gets home from the church and miraculously pulls out this incredible blueprint of how he’s going to take Harry and Marv out, setting up more booby traps than all of the Indiana Jones movies combined (with stuff the writers must’ve assumed is commonplace in the garages and attics of wealthy Chicago neighborhoods). With the unrolling of the plan and the changing of the music, you know the moment is now and there’s not a minute to waste. I mean the dude only has one hour! Putting every 5-hour energy commercial to shame.
In the second movie I love a particular quote after he gets this OTHER home set up (makes a little more sense for a renno project like this one to have the necessary goods, and no mannequins needed for props this time around). He heads down to catch the Artists-Formerly-Known-As-The-Wet-Bandits in the act of robbing a toy store, and just before he throws a brick through the glass (initiating their chase through the part of the movie everyone is waiting for), he makes a point to gather and say to himself “This is it. There’s no turning back now. Another Christmas in the trenches.”
This is how I’d bet many of us view tackling what we have in front of us, with the limited time we have: It’s going to be a battle, maybe an adventure, but a tough load all the same - and we need to be locked in if we are going to survive it and enjoy a glorious Christmas Day. It may even BE the climax we’ve been waiting to come to, and ready or not, it’s here.
In my case I have even listened to the track “Setting the Trap” on the original Home Alone soundtrack to fire me up for getting my "BLINKIES" lights up outside in my trees or the last minute dash through the mall on the 23rd*.
For a number of years this mentality succeeded for me. Well, inasmuch as I made it to a glorious Christmas morning and then was worthless the rest of the day itself.
I remember one time leaving the wonderful family gathering we had at my in-laws to walk the dog back home one Christmas afternoon and passing out on the couch in hardcore sleep, nearly missing (or did I miss?) dinner that year. Other years I’d just start getting confused as the day went on, and struggle with some regret for weeks afterward.
In the last several years, doing “the thing” for my daughter, I’ll never, ever take back. But I wonder if the push up to that point is an even bigger reason for a potential crash. I certainly can’t maintain that pace leading up to it at the age I’m at now, with the life and schedule we have now. I might be able to pull the near all-nighter for some special setup, but going full speed for the week leading up to it just uses up whatever super energy lies in the intangible realm I used to seem to tap into. Now neither espresso or the red food coloring of a cherry soda seem to grant me access to that secret place for long.
A Lesson in Camels
It makes complete sense, that we do these things and often see success, since we are created with an amazing capacity for resiliency. Yet, I’ve come to think of resiliency in a different way over the past couple years after author John Eldridge pointed out a very interesting concept from the animal kingdom. In his book “Resilient,” John points to the function of a camel’s store of water and how they are obviously designed to survive in lean and arid conditions. They tap into their tank, so to speak, when no other animal would have such reserves.
But the concern with driving a camel is that they cannot be pushed hard past their reserves or they will go from full on strong to utter collapse in a flash. They must be led to tap into their reserves more carefully than that and in a way that they can regularly have access to restore them. No wonder it took the Magi a couple of years to reach Bethlehem!
The points he makes in that book about humans and our tendency to miss that our souls function in much the same manner are incredible and led me to rethink about how hard I had often ridden the rhythm of my own life. To plan for margins and adjustments to my commitments so that I don’t have to repeatedly draw from somewhere that’s not there anymore. Or if I’ve found myself in a situation I haven’t planned that well for, to be humble enough to ask for a breather or simply give myself permission to pull away from something or call an audible that’s doable.
Believe it or not, the world and everyone around you - and even all the things you hold dear and want to see come to fruition - can wait for you to catch your breath and come in-line with your soul. But your soul cannot wait for ALL of those external things to be satisfied, no matter how good and healthy those things will be for others.
There’s a point you can’t push past.
But unbelievably more you can do when you are living from a healthy place.
Free and Lightly
It’s incredible to me how many of us love and sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and are, I’m sure, touched by the line “Let your hearts be light.” I wonder, however, if too many of us are waiting for some magic Christmas moment to grant that permission or to allow us to lay down the burden - when we’ve already both been permitted and encouraged to do so by Jesus himself:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 niv)
One contemporary translation we often refer to as The Message, puts verse 29-30 in the following way (that I think makes best sense after you hear it from a standard version like the one I just quoted):
“Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
The burden and weight addressed here are not in reference to circumstantial events but to the load and expectation we are given. The word yoke has a double meaning of the burden an ox would bear for work (might this relate well to how hard a camel is driven?) and the way of teaching that a rabbi would confer on his students.
To be sure, special moments around Christmas can ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT be windows that remind us of this freeing promise. But you don’t have to wait for those, you are already given permission. Scripture is rich with the idea of laying our burden and cares down, even in the midst of a life that is not promised to always be “easy” in terms of circumstances.
I have to believe that celebrating the birth of the One who embodied those ideas is meant to help us live them as well.
Practical Re-Imagining
There’s a beautiful and supernatural provision when you trust the Father with your weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Though it’s hard to align ourselves in this trust, oftentimes the key is simply gearing down to a rhythm that is slower than the panic and gets our eyes off the weight that seemingly hangs over us.
THAT’S where maybe this can be practical for Christmas. I’ve clearly stated the time limitations and that none of us can pack in more than 24 hours per calendar date. But I am aware that all of our “to-dos” are different and we may be under-the-gun in an unfathomable many different ways. For me to tell you to give it up and just rest between now and then is unrealistic and probably unfaithful to the ways you’ve been inspired to show love this season. There’s this tension that doesn’t necessarily have an answer between a healthy pace, what we sense we are responsible for, and this unfair thing we call time.
But maybe there are a few simple things we can do with it.
First and foremost, if you’re about to crash, signal for help. Trim back. Stop for a bit until your un-panicked common sense can find its way to the forefront. Then recalibrate from what you sense you can reasonably get done. Breathe. Listen for the wonder and beauty of the truths we celebrate this season. Run to the Father in your heart or cry out to Him. Spend time with a good friend, even if just a phone call.
Secondly, allow yourself the season. If it feels unfair and impossible to cram your inspiration (or responsibility) into the next 7 days, it probably is! The amazing news is that the Christmas season was designed to be anticipated, then celebrated for the great amount of time of 12 days. And there’s no gold-toothed policeman to tell you you can’t celebrate beyond that. Despite what your neighbors may do, there’s plenty of us who need the season to celebrate in unrushed ways that we are craving this time of year. So you won’t be alone. Allowing that margin will also take the pressure off Christmas Day itself, and ironically it might make it the best one you’ve ever had in doing so!
Lastly, choose some time for reflection. If you’ve got a good advent book or some other devotional helps for this time of year, you don’t have to do an in-depth study but every little bit can help reframe your perspective and keep your soul reserves filled as you navigate your own trenches. In doing so, hopefully it will even recast your vision of what lies ahead as an adventure to behold and less of a war to wage…
If you have to still sling some bricks or buckets, none of us will blame you. We might slow down our best but still wind up in a flooded house with no one to save us but a man with a snow shovel. But save us He shall, and it will be glorious.
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Further resources to check out
Matthew 11:25-30
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“Hush,” A Christmas Song by Passion and Melodie Malone
Lyrics to “Carol of the Bells”
Journey to Bethlehem by David Graybeal
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Resilient by John Eldridge
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* "BLINKIES" are a special type of intermittent blinking light strand you can buy here in the triad, a local tradition for many.
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