A Nontraditional Christmas

I hope you all had a great Christmas! As for me, I'd say the word that best defined my Christmas was nontraditional. We pretty much did none of the usual Christmas stuff we do this year. The reasons are several, but even though there was no traditional Christmas meal, drive to look at lights, or even presents (those will come later ;) I'm strangely okay with the way my Christmas turned out. It was kind of a normal day. Although seeing all the joy and family time on social media feeds made it impossible for it not to feel like Christmas, even if we did have to suffer through 80 degree weather (that's Texas for you...).

But the difference of Christmas this year made me think a lot about the pressure we sometimes put on things. As I scrolled through some of my social media feeds yesterday, I couldn't help feeling like I should be making more out of the day. I mean, it was Christmas after all- a day we literally count down to for weeks. But even Christmas is a regular day with the same number of hours, unpredictable weather, and rising and setting sun as any other. What's special about Christmas day is how it makes us feel. But I don't think we need large family gatherings or gift unwrappings to create that feeling. Which is why I soon decided to get off the internet and do something that made me happy- which happened to be working on my novel :)

But I think the way I felt about Christmas yesterday echoes the way I've been feeling about a lot of things. It's kind of the way I started this recent season after graduating college. I felt so much pressure to make something out of it, to define it by adventure or purpose or something. Anything.

So much that God had to gently pry my hand away from that pen, the one that insisted on labeling these past few months so they would make sense. Instead He has called me to relax and ultimately just "hang out." He's taught me that there's nothing wrong with not going anywhere. Of course direction is good and necessary in some areas of our lives- like our spiritual life, for example. But there are seasons when it's not as important to know exactly what comes next- what our next career move or next big dream should be.

There are some seasons that call for places of rest instead. Places that insist that who we are is more important than what we do. Places that don't value 5-year plans as much as soaking in the reality of who God is, and learning what makes our souls truly happy. That's what this slow, strange season has been for me, so I guess it's only fitting that Christmas would be a little different too.

At the end of the day, I don't really care so much what people think of my goals or where the world whispers I should be by now. I am finding joy and peace and perseverance. And I know that's really where I'm meant to be.

#christian #2015