“O come, let us adore Him ….”

Christmas music greeted me in late November as I entered the grocery store.  I was shopping for my family Thanksgiving dinner.  As much as I delighted in these favorite songs, I was not ready to hear them.

The key word is “ready”.  My mind was feasting on Thanksgiving.  But ready or not, Christmas is coming.  Like a run-away train, this season gathers speed as activities and expectations pile on top of each other. My daily life becomes crowded and cluttered. I want to scream at the top of my lungs, “STOP!”

Are there ways to declutter my life so that I have room in my heart to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus? 

Yes!  Absolutely, yes. Personally, I rely on three courses of action. At the foundation of de-cluttering my life is choosing to go from the hectic, busy, and noisy to the unhurried, quiet, and simple.

I strive daily to follow these steps:

Pause

I pause before God so that I can partner with God in an intimate journey towards the stable.  John 15:5 (NIV) is a good reminder of this Biblical truth, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.”  I become still, quiet, alone with God giving Him room in my life to wrap His long arms around me, allowing His Holy Spirit to penetrate my heart.

Pray

I talk to God! I love to speak out loud to the Lord. Sometimes I find myself standing up, shouting to Him. Other times, I’m on the floor, weeping before Him.  And then, there are many positions in between. Regardless of which stance I take, I remember that my prayers are like incense to Him (Revelation 8:4, NIV). They are precious. But I do not stop at this point.  After pouring out my heart, I silently remain in the presence of the Lord allowing Him to talk to me. Isn’t that amazing? The King of the Universe, who is also the Baby in the manger, longs to speak to me. Deepening my prayer life is a significant way to withdraw from the pull of the world, simplifying and de-cluttering my life at this sacred season of the year. It is profound and well worth my heart-felt focus.

Ponder

The third step to debunk the cluttering of my life in this holy season is to ponder the meaning of Christmas. Not a common practice, pondering means to “consider quietly, soberly and deeply” ( The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2022, p. 567). It is an effective way to shove the clutter out of my life. So, silently I close my eyes and creatively I wonder about Christmas.  Questions that run through my mind are what were the smells, the colors, the feelings of that first holy day? Using my God-given imagination, I answer these questions as I picture myself in the middle of the nativity events. What is written on the pages of my Bible becomes the backdrop of an intimate encounter with Jesus. I fall to my knees as I hear in my heart choirs across the ages sing “O, come all ye faithful”. This calling of the faithful beckons my heart to recalibrate as the shackles of the world fall away.

Pausing, praying, pondering….  Three small but significant steps that effectively transform my heart, causing the clutter of the world to fade from my life.  

What about you?  As an intentional grandparent who hears the call of Psalm 78 (NIV), engage your children and grandchildren with you in this three-step strategy. You will be powerfully positioned as a family to celebrate Christmas unencumbered.  What better joy there is than holding the hand of your loved ones this sacred season. Together, may you “… come and adore Him, Christ the Lord.”