I used to dread Christmas. The first several years of motherhood I felt all this pressure. I needed to:
pick the perfect presents,
decorate a Martha Stewart tree,
cultivate tremendous traditions,
and do it all with a merry smile on my face all the time!
Who had the audacity to task me this impossible list?
I did.
Not God. He only wanted me to spend Christmas contemplating His immense love for humanity and share that truth with others.
Am I the only one out there who voluntarily takes on too much then gets frustrated when I can’t accomplish it all perfectly?
Here’s the truth that evaded me for far too long: I only need to do what He’s called me to.
Everything else is a distraction.
It distracts me from God.
It distracts me from my God-ordained purpose.
It distracts me from an abundant life that Jesus wants to give me.
When I realize His calling, more isn’t better. I don’t have to do any more to be loved any more. Because He already loves me more that I can imagine.
While He’s calling me to be faithful, He’s calling me to be faithful to Him. Not to anyone else’s expectations but His. And He only wants me to love and to serve Him with all my heart and soul and to love my neighbor as myself.
He isn’t asking me to design a perfect day, week or Christmas.
Just love Him.
Just love my neighbor.
Just do as He asked.
And, He promises the Holy Spirit will help me to do just that.
Maybe this is something you need to hear too.
To be faithful is not to create “perfection” in however we might define the word. To be faithful is to love Him.
Let Him guide our hours.
Let Him order our days.
Let Him supply what we need to do as He asked.
Then, we just might experience a bit of the abundant love on earth Jesus came to give as we await the abundance of heaven when we meet Him face-to-face.
Let’s ask Him for His help with just that.
Prayer: Dear Lord, You know the plans You have for my day. Help me not to over-write them with my grand ideas of how I think things ought to look. Help me be faithful to You and what You called me to. Help me grow in my faith and trust in You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.