The Most Wonderful(ly) (Anxious) Time of the Year!

It truly is the “most wonderful time of the year,” isn’t it? The trees, the lights, the cookies, the carols, the gatherings, the Christmas coffees, the gifts, and the Hallmark movies are so much fun. Most of the time.

Christmas is the time of year that seems to magnify all of the emotions and all the feels, and I think that is a good thing. If you are sad, feel it. If you are happy, feel it. If you are angry, confused, joyful, scared, worried, feel it. Then, take it to the cross. God says we are made in His image, so if you’re feeling an emotion, ask Him what He is revealing about Himself. Instead of these things making us feel farther away, let’s perspective shift and use them to help us worship Him more deeply. We can praise Him in the beauty and the mess, and trust that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us(James 4:8). He is the One who brings tidings of comfort and joy . . . comfort and joy . . . oh tidings of comfort and joy. Anyone else want that this time of year? Yes, please! 

I saw a meme the other day that said, “I’m trading my regular anxiety in for my fancy Christmas anxiety.” That made me so sad.  I don’t want to trade one anxiety for another. Jesus came and lived on the earth to defeat sin and death, and all of the ugly things that “the fall of man” produced. Psalm 131:3 reminds us to “Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; Hope always!” Let’s rest in Him, and wait with anticipation for our victory.  We always have hope, and every time we see Christmas decorations, it is our reminder to Hope.  It truly can be “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” because it can be all about Jesus. He is Immanuel, God with us.

This season isn’t meant to produce anxiety, the world does that. This season is for us to remember that the baby that came in the manger, is the celebrated King who won the victory over the grave. We have the victory and there is no better time than Christmas to grab a hold of this truth.  There are pictures of Jesus in a manger everywhere, and the whole world is singing, “peace on Earth.” Those are special reminders to our soul that we have Peace, and the good news is that we don’t have to do it on our own.  Isaiah 30:15 reminds us that “in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.” We have permission to rest and trust, and in that we will be saved. 

Girl, go wash someone’s feet

I am all for girl power and sisters encouraging each other, but I think we need to be very careful in how we are encouraging each other.  

Sometimes the voice of culture muddles the voice of scripture. It is important to take care of ourselves, but when the focus is on what to do to fix ourselves, then inadvertently the focus stays on ourselves.  I’m not speaking a judgmental statement, I’m just speaking from experience. When I have focused on my worries, fears, and shortcomings, I end up feeling more stressed, worried, fearful and coming up short.

So, I tried a little experiment. When I was feeling the weight of my worries trying to get me down, I served. In the midst of the daily to-do list, sometimes I need to remind myself that Jesus came to serve, and serving Him means serving others. I am not saying this to pat myself on the back.  I’m saying this to encourage you, friends, that we can break the chains of worry and fear and stress, and it starts by switching the focus.  

For me, switching the focus begins with worship music. I find it hard to focus on the worries when I keep hearing songs about how strong and mighty our God is, and that we have the same power in us that raised Jesus from the dead. Woah! If we have the power to raise the dead, then we have authority over our fears and worries. I am not downplaying the serious hold that anxiety can have. I know how difficult it is, but I also know that when I meet it head on and worship through it, God meets me there.  

Alright, back to the experiment. Together with my small group, we set up a service project to colllect supplies for our local women’s shelter. On the night we delivered those, we did manicures for some of the shelter residents. It was something that felt fun and lightehearted, but the woman who I was giving a manicure to enjoyed it so much that her smile lit up the room. That made my smile and my emotions overwhelmed, and I realized that I hadn’t felt worry or anxiety the entire night.

God helped me, in the midst of the mess of my life, to serve and love on women through manicures.  I felt free. It doesn’t have to be hard or huge, just let Him use what you are doing today to serve Him.

Serving Jesus, worshipping Him, and loving His people gives us a freedom that can’t come through washing our face, pulling up our bootstraps, or putting our big girl pants on. The focus is Jesus. He wants you and He will carry your burden. Serve someone, give of yourself and watch your burdens lighten. It doesn’t seem like it makes sense, I know, but try it anyway.

I keep thinking of the words of a hymn from Helen Lemmel dating back to 1922, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”

When you feel down, “girl, go wash someone’s feet.” Take the focus off of you, turn your eyes upon Jesus, serve others, and watch the things of this Earth grow strangely dim.  I promise it will change everything.