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Recovering from Thanksgiving? Here's some comfort and joy.
Did your Thanksgiving include surprises or even disappointments? Did a person majorly disappoint you? Or are you just aching inside because a loved one died or couldn't be there? Maybe you just felt physically sick and exhausted.
Hey, no one (yes, no one!) has a perfect holiday. That's a myth. We actually can experience something infinitely better: We can experience someone: the reality of Jesus Christ indwelling us.
Reminder: If we experienced the original Christmas, nobody would say it contained perfect surroundings and gatherings. Yet His perfect presence made Christmas. That remains the case today.
We need to focus most on His presence and prepare ourselves to give everything to Him and experience His comfort and joy in the process. Let's focus on some tips. (Actually, I posted something on social media and I'm turning part of it into a devotional because I thank God that it resonated and helped people.)
7 Tips to Transform the Holidays
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Remove unrealistic expectations. Don't expect perfect. (Perfect meals and gatherings will happen when Christ returns.) Nobody (yes, nobody!) is going to have a perfect holiday. But anybody can savor the Lord's perfect love.
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Don't own other people's problems/conflicts. Ask God for wisdom.
- Focus on the Lord and literally count blessings (even though the holiday of Thanksgiving is over).
- Read (and do!) Psalm 100. (See below.)
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Just enjoy the best parts of Christmas and New Year's. Give yourself permission to not dismiss the "tiny" treasures in your life that God gave you (and others still desire and wait for).
- When grieving, it's a good idea to rest more and reach out to someone else suffering this Thanksgiving.
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Prayerfully get ready to give this Christmas. I'm not talking about just shopping. Instead, let's not just rush and buy stuff without heart prep. Instead, intentionally give God everything. Ask Him for His forgiveness. And ask Him to help you forgive so that you're truly ready to give whatever He leads you to give. It's the heart behind the gift (not the size of gifts) that matters. Only Christ can clean out our hearts and make us new. Ask Him to do that. He will.
Now, let's read (and do!) Psalm 100:
"1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
3 Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations."
Did you notice how it all depends on the fact that the Lord IS good (even when things feel bad)? That's an irrepressible source of true joy and comfort. He will carry you and, as you open yourself up to Him, He'll give you the greatest gift: Himself.
And know we are praying for you. You ARE loved by God and His people.
Stacie Ruth Stoelting Hudzinski
P.S. Is this type of content new to you? Learn more about how to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by reading our testimony by clicking here.
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