Here we are again. The holidays are upon us. It seems like yesterday I was taking down my tree from 2022. Have you noticed time moving faster? I tend to feel it mostly around the holidays. I attribute it to commercialism. Once the Halloween candy is off the shelves, it’s replaced with Christmas décor. And to be fair, Thanksgiving doesn’t have the best decorations.
I happen to love Thanksgiving though. Not just the food, but also the smell of turkey cooking in the oven, the tried and failed recipes when making a new dish, catching up with family and friends. It’s a warm season even when the temperature outside is lower than I would like.
It’s not necessarily a warm season for everyone though. If you’re like me, the holiday table looks a little different each year. Our families are getting older, there are changes in situations, and some empty chairs. Catching up is what we tend to do around the holidays because we’re forced to slow down and spend time with people we may only see once a year. We might learn things about them we never knew or have those difficult conversations we’ve been trying to avoid.
It’s really no wonder the holidays are a high time for depression. Financial and family issues surface, and the changes that have occurred in previous months are all brought to attention this time of year.
If you’re one that doesn’t look forward to the holidays, you’re not alone. Everything in this season tells us we need to be merry, we need to have that picture perfect family and that picture perfect table with our friends surrounding us. It tells us something is wrong if we don’t. But the pictures we put in frames and on social media don’t always tell the true story.
The author of Hebrews tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Why is that important? Because we can become distracted by all the things we think we need to be, when the only thing we need is to be at His feet.
Make Jesus the reason for your season this year and keep your eyes fixed on Him. Let your anxieties fall by the wayside and give Him a place at your table. Let this holiday be different in a good way.
