Weekly Inspiration - Have a Merry Heart, and also a “Heart like Mary” During This Joyous Christmas Season

Have a Merry Heart, and also a “Heart like Mary” During This Joyous Christmas Season…

By Kendall Valenzuela

The last of the turkey and stuffing have been eaten, and our minds are now turned towards the “Countdown to Christmas.” How many of us can reflect back upon our childhood days, where as young girls we would write out our “Christmas Wish List” of desired toys, and make certain that, at our parent’s behest, we were displaying our very best behavior because Santa was watching? How wonderful was that, when our most difficult task at this time of year was to make certain that we did not end up with a lump of coal in our stocking? I don’t know about you, but there are times when I agree whole heartedly with the “Toys R Us” jingle … I DON’T WANT TO GROW UP!

Life is certainly more simplistic as a child. There are no parties to plan and host. You walk down the stairs on Christmas morning, with eager anticipation to see what gifts may have “magically” appeared over night. You have no real concept of the amount of thought, time, energy and money that went into purchasing, assembling and wrapping those items. Your primary focus is on playing with and enjoying the new gifts you have opened.

As women, we are innately “wired” to be caretakers and to want to make the Christmas season a special and exciting time. I truly do LOVE this time of year, and enjoy listening to and singing Christmas carols.  I think it is amazingly awesome to hear Christmas songs being played on “secular” radio stations, sharing the good news with our nation about the birth of Christ! As soon as the Thanksgiving holiday has passed, I begin to drag out the storage boxes and start the arduous process of decorating my home for the holidays. Seeing the beautiful lights and store front decorations springing up around my neighborhood makes me happy, along with so many other people that I randomly encounter. People seem to become more jovial, as the “Christmas Spirit” often spreads like the flu during this time of year.

The colder weather provides a welcomed opportunity to enjoy a warm fire, a cozy sweater and inspires (even more) trips to the local Starbucks. I relish the opportunity to gather with family and friends to share a good meal, as well as the time carved out each December to bake cookies, and other goodies to share. I have already received and thumbed through my latest edition of “Martha Stewart Living,” gathering new recipes and inspirational ideas for gifts and decorating!

 Yet…the Christmas season can also be a time where, as women, we over exert ourselves. If we are not careful to prioritize and delegate our duties and resources, we can easily become too busy and “burnt out” by the time that the New Year roles around! I am quite embarrassed to recount that I have personally and literally “run away from home” in the past. Yes, as you may have also personally experienced, running away occurred once or twice when I was a pre-teen girl, and upset at my mother for not allowing me to do something that I wanted. However, that is not the “running away” episode about which I am speaking…I am referring to a full-grown-adult episode in my life, which occurred several years ago after a Christmas holiday season ended, leaving me in a state of existence requiring a “hasty retreat” to an isolated place alone.

This is not the sort of thing about which I am proud to share, but I will for the sake of possibly saving someone else from having the same thing occur. I seriously packed an overnight bag, kissed my husband and family good bye, and got in my car to drive away. I had no idea at that exact moment in time where I was headed…but due to the enormous amount of stress and physical exhaustion I felt from having endured multiple weeks straight of planning, hosting, shopping, decorating, wrapping, shipping, cooking, cleaning, etc., I desperately needed a retreat, or I was going to have a serious “melt-down.”…And believe me when I say that there would NOT have been a top hat, corn-cob pipe, button nose and two eyes made out of coal left behind if I had actually melted! At that moment, it would more than likely have looked like a scene from the “Wizard of Oz,” wherein a pointy black top hat, a green pool of liquid and a straw broom would have been found within my (beautifully decorated, mind you) dining or family room!

During this season it is important that as women and mothers, we do not give fodder to some ridiculous Television Producer, whom may decide after witnessing our frantic and hurried holiday behavior, to come up with a new spin on the “Desperate Housewives” or “Girls Gone Wild” series. (Although, frankly speaking, a new “spin” would be a vast improvement over the current crude content of these shows!) What we really need is to take time out for ourselves, and to stop and reflect upon the true meaning and significance of Christmas. We need to make certain that we are acting more like Mary, and less like Martha. (And, in a non-biblical reference… we can also try to be less like the modern day “Martha Stewart”, too!)

Take a moment to read the following passage concerning Mary and Martha, found in Luke 10: 38-42. In this brief passage, we see that Martha was distracted by the amount of serving, planning and preparation that she had to do as a host. She was irritated that her sister, Mary, was not offering to help her serve.  Martha did not recognize that Mary was displaying the proper attitude and actions; by her making time to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to him speak, Mary displayed that she valued her time in her Savior’s presence above that of everything else that was taking place around her. Martha became anxiety ridden over the simple, ordinary tasks that she had to address and accomplish.

During the “hustle and bustle” of the Christmas season, we need to be cautious not to act like Martha, too. In the midst of all the shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, hosting and gathering…we need to pause and take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Reflecting and rejoicing in the miracle of Christ’s birth, and the role that He has played in our lives.

In this passage of Luke, we read how Jesus lovingly scolded and corrected Martha. He told her to pause, to slow down from the busyness of the moment, and to reflect upon “the one thing” that is needed…that one thing was a fully focused devotion and commitment to Christ. Everything else will pass away in time. The Christmas tree trimmings, cookies, office parties and wrapped gifts are all wonderful and fun to experience. However the TRUE joy of the season will be found in the presence of Jesus. I don’t know for certain…but I don’t believe that Martha Stewart has figured this out yet, either!

My heartfelt wish is that you will embrace the truth of Christ’s words spoken to Martha (of Bethany) for yourself this season. I have learned the hard way, the effects of not personally slowing down enough to spend time alone in prayer, sitting at God’s feet and reading/listening to His Word during the busy and hectic Christmas season…Just call up the hotel, where I landed alone and exhausted on Catalina Island several years ago. (Yes…I stopped my car in Long Beach and boarded a ferry to get there. I did not flee home and drive straight to Catalina; although it would be pretty cool to have a submersible car that could drive along the bottom of the ocean! ... Santa, if you are listening…I think I just figured out what I want for Christmas this year!) If you could actually contact the hotel where I retreated, I am certain they would relay how at that point in time,  I looked like a “Poster Child” of what happens when someone works non- stop, and doesn’t slow down and seek solace in the Lord to “recharge” their own battery.

Taking time out to read the Bible, journal and pray is an important personal habit to develop and establish as an individual throughout every season of the year…however, it is even more crucial that we seek time alone at the feet of Christ during this busy holiday season. Christ alone is the main and the most important gift. He is the only true source for obtaining inner peace, strength and a knowledge of the truth that surpasses all understanding. You can try to seek this fulfillment elsewhere, but I am here to tell you that you can’t buy it at the Macy’s “One Day Sale”, and it won’t be found wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning!

So… go on now! Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa. Grab a cookie or a slice of gingerbread, and take a seat by the fire. Open up your Bible and journal…there is a very special guest whom is patiently waiting there to meet you. He doesn’t need you to entertain Him, and He doesn’t care if your hair or your house is a mess. He isn’t impressed by the time you have spent decorating. What He desires most is that you have a “Merry” heart…and also a heart like that of Mary during this joyous Christmas season.