Enjoying December Without Stress

The Thanksgiving crumbs have been swept up, the fall decor tucked safely away into storage bins, and the leftovers are finally gone. You sit down to take a moment’s rest and you see your December calendar with red reminders flashing at you brighter than Rudolph’s “nose so bright!”  The realization that there is barely time to breathe in the next month can cause anxiety, stress and even dread for what should be the most joyous time of year.

How do I know this?  I was there…the day after Thanksgiving!

I began to let my mind go to what needed to be completed by the end of next week, and I jumped into panic mode, sending texts, making lists and allowing a flurry of palpitations to pound my heart.  But then I stopped in my Prayer Closet and took those needs to the Lord. He quieted me.  He turned my heart to the thanks I had given Him only hours before as we praised him around the bounty of our table.  I had praised Him for satisfying my mouth with good things, for always being enough for every trial.  Will He not also guide me through the maze of events and plans in December, too?

Psalm 104:34 – My meditation of Him will be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. 

When I choose to look at Christ, and give Him my schedule, the demands breathing down my neck like the leviathan mentioned in verse 26, I am made glad in the Lord.  My memory of what He has done in the past is sweet and it calms my heart and reminds me to trust in Him today…and every day of the Christmas month.

If you’re already getting anxious about all that is coming at you in this next month, can I encourage you to do what seems counter-productive, and stop!  Stop to pray and ask God to give you wisdom to use your time carefully.  Ask for strength to accomplish only what He wants you to do.  Ask for the understanding of when to say “No.”  Many times we’re stressed because we’re doing things we shouldn’t have taken on.  

Let’s enjoy this month that we look so forward to all year.  It will be gone before we know it.  Let’s finish the year strong in the Lord each day of December!