Oh No! The Holidays are Coming!
This time of year makes me squirly! I get frustrated and anxious at the thought of the holidays. So much is demanded of me and I seem to demand of others. Silly, I know, and I get hurt about dumb stuff that any other time of the year would not faze me. I am a Christian but this time of year I see so much lack of Christ in the things and people around me. I need to get over this but how?
Dear Squirly,
You are so correct that holidays change people. They will change them for the better or worse! My advice would be to quit looking at others and just focus on you and how you are looking and acting during holidays. When I do that I can put the blame where it belongs and that is with me personally. I am not responsible before God for what others do or say but I am responsible for what I do or say.
Holidays are just another day with an event attached to them. True, holidays bring with them their own special demands. Prayer and reading the word of God is your key to all things. By doing these two things it will put Jesus in the center of your days. Every day we need His direction and guidance to go through it.
Stress does not have to overcome the child of God during these days. It is by choice that we get overcome because we have not put boundaries around ourselves. Ask the Lord to help you put boundaries around yourself.
Learn how to say no! People have a hard time saying that word. I tell them to go to a mirror and practice how to say no. You are not to be all things to all people! Only the Lord can do and be that. Also let go of comparing yourself to others during this time.
Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” You cannot be living an abundant life if you are allowing the thief or devil to steal your joy, kill your enthusiasm, and destroy your peace during holidays. This is your choice to not allow this to happen.
We must not allow others to determine for us how we will handle the holidays. A child of God is not a people-pleaser but a God-pleaser! We can only please the Lord when we read His word and pray to know what He wants us to do and how He wants us to act during these times.
Each day, whether it be a holiday or not, is a day full of opportunities for the light of the Lord Jesus Christ to shine through us. You will have happy God-filled holidays if you keep your eyes on the Lord and not others no matter what they are saying or doing!
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