By Lois Hewitt

The holidays are fast approaching.  Thanksgiving with all its preparations. Christmas with all its decorations and festivities. And new years with all its optimism. 

As a younger person, I enjoyed the thought of cooking, baking, decorating and shopping.  Buying just the right cards and sending them even to people I barely knew.

The tree stayed up for months as I just couldn’t bear taking it down as it made the house seem so empty.

I always had a Christmas planner with dates for when things needed done.  But I always fell short on time, energy and money.  But the thought was always that this year would be the perfect holiday.

Every year was not the perfect holiday and plans started early so that the next holiday years would be perfect.

As I grew older the idea of all the preparations became more and more tiring.  I suppose if I had children, it might have been different but without that, the holidays became empty for many years.

Simply going through the steps like a robot.  Wishing all the nonsense was over.  Buying gifts that no one wanted. Going deeper into an already deep cavern of debt.

Soon the holidays meant nothing. I felt not a thing for them or about them.

This continued for many years. A fake enthusiasm for all the great fun it would be.  The closer we came to total financial ruin, the harder it was to pretend.

Then the bottom fell out completely. No home, no stuff and no money except that which was generously given by friends and family. Rock bottom.

Today my holidays are completely different.  Gone are the planners, the cards, the extreme menus and the gifts.

Today I understand what I was missing before.  Greed has been replaced with gratitude. Chaos has been replaced with peace.  And high expectations have been replaced with the true joy of the season.

I have fallen in love again with the holiday season.  I now enjoy them. I do not partake in any craziness.  I simply look around with extreme gratitude.

Gifts I no longer give or need to receive except for the one greatest gift of all.  The birth of our Savior, Jesus.  I used to say I celebrated the reason for the season but the reality was not that truth.

Today I celebrate my love for Jesus and His uncompromising love for me.  His birth started a chain reaction that changed the entire history of the world.

He came to show humans a better way to live through loving one another.  He showed us, through His life, how to behave. And He gave His life to forgive our sins and give us the gift of eternal life with Him.

Once I realized that solid truth, my holidays changed and my life changed. 

That’s not to say the fun and parties are bad.  Just for me, I have changed how I view it all.  It used to be a show, but now it is an internal feeling of true gratitude and love.

What’s the point of this post, you ask.  I know so many people who just get burned out during this time of year.  Many are so very sad.  I used to be that person.

I realized you don’t have to ride society’s merry-go-round.  You can say no.  You can forgo the cards and gifts. You can create new traditions that feed your soul.  You can rethink what you believe.

If you love it the way it is, good for you.  Don’t change a thing.  But if you are overcome by it all, you are allowed to take care of yourself.

For me it was meeting Jesus where I was, crying in my desperation and finding His love that renewed me.  That’s my point today, you can reclaim your holidays. Some people may not be happy about it, but when you are living the true truth, the peace is worth it.

May your holiday season bring you the joy your soul needs to thrive!