Like you, I had expectations for this holiday season. Expectations of concerts and parties, of shopping and eating out, of meals shared and gifts exchanged. And, that just isn’t happening.
But, as usual, God has turned a negative into something beautiful (as only He can).
I’m talking of course about the lockdown and the havoc that the Covid virus has brought into our world.
This year, school Christmas concerts are cancelled, restaurants are shut down, office parties are nonexistent and neighborhood gatherings aren’t happening. And, young moms are telling me that whereas their Holiday calendars are usually packed full by now, this year their calendars are nothing but a sea of empty days.
That’s where the happy starts to come in.
This forced lockdown has changed the way we do the holidays. If you’re like me, you were a bit furious when it was announced. But, would God stand by and allow the season we celebrate His son’s birth to be destroyed? Of course not. Instead, he filled this time with lessons that we can carry with us forever.
For, what other year have we had empty calendars? When have we had so much time to spend with our families? And, when have so many “necessary” things been erased from our to-do lists?
We can’t pass out baked goods to our friends, but that means we don’t have to do all that baking! We won’t be getting an office secret Santa gift, but we don’t have to buy one either. Neither do we have to find the perfect holiday outfits to wear to the multiple parties that usually litter December’s calendar. I can think of dozens of ways this year’s holidays have been simplified and it’s been surprisingly wonderful.
For the first time in forever, I can relax and actually enjoy the season. I have time to buy myself coffees and cruise the aisles of stores actually taking in the décor without being in a frenzy of “have-to” shopping for office, neighborhood and school-chum gifts. I’m not up baking after the rest of the family is in bed. I’m not going shop to shop trying to find a party dress that I can cram myself into or wrapping countless gifts for people I don’t really know.
Instead, I have time to put on PJ’s and watch my favorite Christmas movies, listen to carols and read some new Christmas stories. And, I’ve been able to study the word instead of dropping exhausted into bed each evening and saying, “Hey, I’ll catch you in January” to my Father.
I pray I can LOCKDOWN this new way of celebrating Christ’s birth (see what I did there?) and keep it in my heart for next year as well. God turned this time into a season of joy after all and taught me how Christmas could be. Now, it’s up to me to take those lessons to heart and revisit them next year (when hopefully Covid is a distant memory).
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Read more of Ann’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
