Holiday seasons are some of the most interesting times of the year. From a Christian perspective, they should be the time of the year that we are most closely drawn to Christ. Yet, do they not always end up being just the opposite? When with our families, stress and tempers flare up and foul attitudes follow shortly after. Personally, it is also a time where my personal devotion time--which is already pretty faulty throughout the year--becomes almost non-existent. Different family obligations or busy schedules get even more in the way of my personal interactions with my Savior. This results in me being even more frustrated in family interactions because my spirit is in a sub-par place. Yet, the Holy Days of Christmas and Easter, where I have spent my time of Advent and Lent trying to draw closer and find more meaning in the seasons. Yet, the season ends up ruined due to the complicated relationships that we were born into. The holidays should be joyous and happy and draw us closer to our Father, yet once we get with our fathers and mothers and siblings and such it makes it much more difficult to center our time on the One who we celebrate during the holidays. Backwards, isn't it? I guess such is human life.
Father, help me to keep you at the center and focus on You during this holiday season. Let the next nine days of Christmas be spent celebrating your first coming as I await in this second Advent your second coming for Your people. Holy Spirit, bring the peace and aid that I need to do so.
Written on Tuesday, 27 December 2011 on the plane on the way back to Chicago.
