Joy in the Overwhelm: Lessons From an Overstuffed Christmas

I admit, I love Christmas as much as the next girl. I love the magical sparkle of twinkling lights, the beautiful patterns on gorgeous wrapping papers, the joy of giving someone just the right gift. I love when someone gives me just the right gift too, like the feathered dip pen I got from my oldest daughter's best friend, the little pink Christmas gnome I got from my oldest daughter and never put away, the poem one of my students at church wrote for me, the cross my youngest daughter chose for my thirty-ninth birthday gift - which I never take off - or the laptop I'm using to write this post.  love Christmas.

But yall, this Christmas season has been more overstuffed than a Granny's favorite chair, and I am overwhelmed. This last week alone, I helped coordinate (in small ways) and attended two large events at church, partied through a third event with a small group of besties, house-sat for my spiritual parents, and finally (I think) finished shopping. I also got my youngest back and forth school, spent some time with my oldest, did my best to keep up with my writing schedule, and kept all of us fed, warm, healthy, and relatively happy.

Side Note: I have wrapped zero presents, my house is a mess, I can't remember the last time I slept more than six hours in a stretch, and I still have way too many things to do in order to maintain the level of Christmas magic my children and family are accustomed to experiencing.

It's one of those seasons where there is not a moment to spare - and every task takes twice the time allotted for completion. The pressure is on. No one has matchy pajamas. The food isn't prepped because I haven't bought it yet. And as Christmas morning gets closer, I keep joking that my kids are going to wake up Christmas morning to find presents under the tree but not one of them will be wrapped. With increasing seriousness and an exhausted grin, I laughingly tell people that maybe this year I'll just point at an unwrapped pile of gifts and cheerfully dictate: "That ones yours, and that one's hers, and that one's for our friend, and that one's yours..."

Honestly, it would be so easy to curl up in bed with a book that isn't mine, refuse to get up other than to refill my stash of corn nuts and rice crispy treats, and just call this whole season a wash. I failed to keep up. I couldn't get it all done. I'm tired and I don't have my usual spark. I dropped the ball. But then again...none of those things are the point anyway, are they?

On Tuesday night, it didn't matter that I couldn't find the battery pack for the Christmas trees in the center of my table at the Stephen Ministry party. What mattered was that my cranberry relish was fabulous, my table turned out beautiful in the end (I bought a new battery pack), and I got to share those moments and the joy of that ministry with my daughters. On Wednesday, it didn't matter that I hate the mess of Gingerbread houses and the chaos of kids doped up on too much candy. What mattered was the vulnerability shared with my ninth grade students as we discussed Godly dating standards and the value of boundaries as daughters of the highest King while we spread icing and scattered sprinkles. What mattered was knowing those girls felt seen and heard - and that's what I carried with me through the rest of this week's busyness.

It helped me stay mindful of what counts, and mindfulness helped me to be more intentional. I used the same strategies I always use for keeping up:

• I kept my calendar filled in, prioritizing tasks and events by due date.
• I said "no" where I needed to, respecting and honoring my own boundaries and limitations.
• I accepted help when it was offered, recognizing that I'm only human and simply cannot do everything all at once.
• I kept my internal focus on God and let Him carry through the moments of struggle. (Matthew 6:34 is a great reminder to prioritize what's needed today. Sometimes you really do need to let tomorrow worry about itself. Matthew 11:28 keeps me grounded in seeking peace and rest in the right place. And Galatians 6:9 keeps me focused on the calling on my life and reminds me to hold onto my "why.")

In the hardest moments, I didn't give up and retreat from everything for one simple reason: hope. I have lived a hard life in many ways, but one thing I've learned is that nothing lasts forever. If what goes up must come down, then the opposite of this must also be true - what goes down must come up. Life is rarely lived in a straight line, and sometimes you just have to ride out the low moments believing that the best is yet to come, and that one way or another, this too shall pass.

I applied these things to my writing as well; trying to juggle everything all at once is overwhelming and I confess, I've let my writing schedule slip a little. I'm pretty far behind right now, and there's a good chance I'll miss my Q4 goal to finish writing STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM before the end of the year. But getting through hard things is all about framework and perspective, so I'm choosing to see this as yet another opportunity to practice prioritizing - Christmas is over in a few days, but 2024 isn't finished yet. There's time to focus on sharing the holiday season with my loved ones, give myself grace and permission to rest - and hope that in the quiet between the sleigh bells and the ball drop, I'll catch up.

It's a timely lesson, especially considering the content of The Freedom Series and its focus on managing and coping with overwhelming things as gracefully and efficiently as possible. There were moments this season where I found myself wishing for more quiet, more alone time, more rest - but in those moments my heart broke for Christine as I remembered her aching loneliness in the Christmas scenes from FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM (available now for preorder!) and how Christine worked through those moments. Too many real-life people just like Christine are hurting this season, and the world is full of people for whom the holidays are quiet and hold very little joy.

I had to recognize that even in my overwhelm, I am blessed. I hope that this Christmas, you have reasons to feel blessed too, even if you have dig deep to find them. I hope you have moments of joy to savor when things are too busy, lights twinkling in your heart no matter how dark the world around you might be, and that even if you aren't seeking a God-centered Christmas, someone makes you feel like you are their favorite gift.

Because in the end, it isn't about the chaos, the mess, or the magic - it's about the moments we make, the love we share along the way, and the strength of spirit to...