Merry Christmas???—I’m dying!

Believe it or not, I’m finding there is a pretty simple way to guarantee yourself a very merry Christmas this year. It just requires a lot of give and take …

  1. Give expectations to God. Don’t give up on your current plans and hopes, give them to God so that He is free to do with them what He wants to do this year, with or without your help. At your next prayer time go slowly through the biggest things on your wish list for Christmas and lay them down on God’s altar. If they die, they die, and if God gives them back as privileges you’ll be pleasantly surprised. God will always be God! This first decision is an anchor. It really helps in relationships with others too!
  2. Take responsibility for your part. While you may have freed others of the expectations you had for them, it doesn’t mean they will do the same for you. Look at your part as a special chance to serve. You don’t have to take responsibility to make sure everything goes well all the time. But you have been given a certain part. Do it well and when the wrapping paper settles you’ll be glad you did.
  3. Give, give and give again … and keep on giving and giving. Real giving hurts at first. But out of brokenness comes an ability to give with pure joy. That will come. For now give until you feel like a corpse in a trough. That’s the sign you’ve found Him.
  4. Take note of what God does. The day after Christmas get up early and write in your journal what you saw God do. Write down the things that seem unresolved too. Trust Him to take care of those but spend your time telling stories about what did work out. Share a testimony in church or tell those younger than you the ways the Christchild was born afresh in your Christmas.

 

Christmas is made of many things!

3 Comments

  1. Esther Staddon December 16, 2014 at 12:17 am #

    Amen, Donald! Such a good idea to be anticipating what God is going to do through it all and then write it down when it happens. 🙂

    Ana, if you have discovered that celebrating Christmas is pagan, don’t celebrate it. The deeper message of this post that speaks to me is the exhortation to be a generous person, think of others, and watch God at work. This applies to all of us every day. May God bless you with the joy of giving!

  2. James December 16, 2014 at 9:20 am #

    That’s great, Donald!

  3. Christine December 17, 2014 at 11:54 am #

    Thank you for this post. It has a gentle reminder of how I need to go about the next few days until Christmas. It is all about give and take.

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