Dear Friends in Christ -
Was it this morning or yesterday morning when I heard the countdown on the radio for the first time this season? Because I make many of the Christmas presents that I give, I have already started my Christmas preparations, but I'm not yet ready to start the countdown.
For me, the countdown process has two emotional pulls - one positive, one negative. On the positive side, there's excitement, a sense of anticipation. As an adult, it's different than when I was a kid. It's more about masterminding plans to help my kids find joy and delight during this season. On the negative side, there's the pull toward fear. It seems that it's not only the marketers singing the song, but even my friends - not enough time, not enough money, not enough of the "toy of the year" on store shelves.
This year, I'm going to intentionally steer away from fear by giving myself the gift of serenity, and starting today, I'm going to pray the Serenity Prayer on a regular basis, the WHOLE THING. Then when I'm done praying it, I'm going to try to "stay" in it by continuing its exercises throughout the day. Do you know the Serenity Prayer? The famous part goes like this:
God grant me serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Here's the rest of Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer - which contains the secret of how to do the first part:
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
Here's my "final answer": it doesn't matter to me how many shopping days there are until Christmas. Everything thing that needs to get done will get done, God willing, in His time. The rest, I'm letting go of so my heart is free to rejoice.
Faithfully,
Janet+
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