The Gift of Pause

Did you notice?

There was an excitement in the air as Thanksgiving approached. It’s the first big holiday of the season. A little dread too, because we knew as soon as the leftover turkey went in the fridge—it would be New Year’s Eve.

Doesn’t it feel that way?

There is so much to do in this season that we start running a race to finish, perfect, wrap, and bake everything by the time Christmas arrives. We know we won’t always finish everything but we certainly try! I have totally gone to walk out the door to a part of some sort and forgotten to wrap a gift. Into a grocery sack with a bow it goes. It’s terrible, but Ive done it. I’m not judging!

We talk about the value of the season and caring for others and giving everything– time, money, food, gifts. We dress up, put on best smiles at every party and occasionally we grumble a little about the preparation and busy-ness.

We schedule time with all of our favorite people and take lots of pictures, enjoy food we don’t usually allow ourselves and remember people we forget about sometimes. Busy, full and fun (if we allow ourselves). We jump onto this holiday carousel and hold on for dear life.

Then we snap some pictures as all of our efforts and we crash into January where things finally slow as we attempt to recover from the whirlwind.

Was the season ever meant to get this crazy? I haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t have a list of things that keeps growing.

What was the first Christmas like? I’m sure it wasn’t that busy. Right?

Actually… it was probably pretty crazy.

The first holiday season?

Mary was engaged to Joseph when the angel of the Lord appeared to her.

Think about that for a moment. She was planning a wedding, a huge life change. Not only would she be leaving her family but there were arrangements to be made, a feast to plan and problems to solve. Not ideal timing to be welcoming a little one. You think weddings are hard to plan these days? A typical wedding in Mary’s time would have been a whole week’s occasion and the whole village was invited! Extended family and neighbors and friends. A lot of people to consider and feed. It was no small occasion.

I imagine that Mary would have also been at least a little bit concerned about Joseph’s reaction, not to mention her family! But she doesn’t show it in scripture. “I am the Lord’s Servant, may everything you have said about me come true.” Mary says in Luke 1:38. Such a strong young woman! Faithful and trusting in the hardest of times.

And God provides for his faithful daughter…He sends an angel to Joseph to explain in order to keep her engagement intact. These two faithful believers accepted Gods plan for them. And in this season of wedding planning and new obstacles to face—they accepted the growing child as part of their lives.

Did we think family drama was a new thing? The first holiday season had all the things we experience now—busyness, family expectations, planning, meal prep, important get togethers, unplanned obstacles. God was faithful then and God is still faithful now. Families are complicated and God loves the whole mess of us.

I know there would have been quite the fuss over Mary and her condition, but the Lord did not leave her alone. He gave Mary someone to go through this pregnancy with. No one could really relate to being a virgin yet pregnant with the Messiah, but the Lord gives her the next best thing. An aunt who was pregnant even though she was long past the time when she should be having children. They both would have made quite the disruption to expected ideals!

And the first Christmas?

At this point Mary was in her ninth month. Ready to be taking it easy and waiting for  baby to be born. Circumstances did not let them stay home though; Ceasar Augustus decided to have the first census. Joseph was required to travel to the city of his birth to be counted.

Side note: Why now? Why this first one, just in time for Christ’s birth? The “coincidences” surrounding Christ’s whole life are so perfectly in line with scripture that the only explanation is a supernatural one. He is the Messiah. He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies in very specific ways that would not have been possible except supernaturally.

This is another one of those. Jesus could not have planned for the government to do this so that he would be born in Bethlehem. Instead there is a reason that Mary traveled so far when she was so pregnant. A reason they couldn’t have ignored without legal implications. Perfectly planned.

 I imagine Joseph and Mary were busy getting ready to go to Bethlehem to be counted. Busy but also trying to rush to get where they were going before the baby came. Not ideal circumstances. When they arrived again plans changed. Joseph was trying to provide for his wife and unborn child a place of safety but was unable because of the Census. There was no room. They had to make do with what they had. The baby was coming. We know God provided for them. The Magi and shepherds were able to find the tiny king but the King was not. Perfectly orchestrated by the Lord.

So unlikely. So miraculous.

The first holiday? Busy and unexpected. The first Christmas? Crazy and full of obstacles and unknowns.

Above all of it—the Lord was in control. He still is.

The first holiday was no less busy and crazy than ours. Can we still find time to savor it?

It’s December. We only have a few moments left of 2018 and I’m not done with it yet. It’s busy, but I’m not ready to succumb to “too-busy.” I’m not ready to blame my stress level on the state of my to-do list.

Not ready for the hustle of the season to deliver me to January. I want to enjoy every moment of this last month. To recognize that it is busy–but there tiny treasures hidden in each day. A million little God-moments in between all the obstacles and unexpected stresses.

I want to make it last, sip and savor it like spiced cider. Tasting every. single. flavor. Enjoying the sweet warmth—the aroma of cinnamon and orange zest. The light spice of ginger and clove. Sipping carefully while warming my hands on the mug lovingly gifted to me by a friend.

Eyes closed and imagining a fire, curled up with a soft blanket (Have you gotten one of those blankets at Costco yet? They feel like an uninterrupted nap!), listening to soft Christmas music and breathing deep each gratitude and blessing. Each sip—remembering an answered prayer, an unexpected blessing. Sip honey and thanksgiving. Savor memories of kids growing beautifully but all too quickly. And finish the last sip with expectation for good things in the next year. A bittersweet moment. The season is over, but He is not done–the Lord wants to fill our cups again.

I want to finish this year through to the very last sip, savoring the moments.

Learn to stop the running just long enough for a sip of goodness. A pause.

Here in this first week of December I would like to give you a gift friend, The gift of pause.

In the moment, when your stress and to-do list drive you to thoughts of quitting and hiding under the covers? I give you a gift and a challenge. The challenge to take a breath and hold it long enough to find some tiny thing to be thankful for. Coffee to keep you going? A smile of mischief from that two-year-old that is driving you crazy? The beauty and independent spirit of an older daughter? The goofy grin of a boy with a stick? The gift is the knowledge that you can hit the pause button—see the everyday miracle that might be happening right in front of you amidst the crazy. Over salted gravy or coconut cream pie, maybe burned rolls–an inside joke for years to come. A flat tire on the way to dinner–Christmas carols sung on the road side. God is in every moment–will we pause to invite Him in?

A pause– a choice to stop and see what God is doing wherever we are.

Lets make these last few weeks count. A cherished gift—no matter what might be making us pull our hair out.

Take a sip.

What’s your pause?