I have a bit of a tendency to leave things until the last minute, then try and do multiple jobs at once. I would imagine that you are either someone who can relate to this, or you are the complete opposite to me, and cannot understand why anybody would ever leave things until the last minute, because surely that is just stressful?
Well, yes, it can be a little stressful. Today I am trying to tie up lose ends before we head East for Christmas.n We're leaving this afternoon, and, as usual, there is still a lot to do.
Where am I going with this? I hear you wonder. At 12pm today, I started to feel hungry, but was in the middle of doing a 3 hour stint on my children's Learning Diaries and was not ready to stop for lunch. Fuelled by my mid morning caffeine fix (which was free!) and a desire to get all of my jobs done, I kept on going with my hungry tummy in tow.
Once I finished my learning diaries, I whizzed round the kitchen to do a quick tidy, then headed for the lounge to do some present wrapping. It was at that point where I was reminded of the phrase one of our school Reverend's used at the start of the academic year: Hit the ground kneeling. His wise words gently encouraged us of the great importance of being still in times of busyness. To stop, if only for a moment, and be still.
I needed to stop & eat. I could quite happily bypass lunch, or just eat a bowl of granola, rather than make the effort of preparing something. But today, I needed to make a meal of it. To sit down and eat something nourishing, and make myself stop & remember why we celebrate Christmas.
And this is the point. Christmas is not meant to be about rushing around frantically, getting stressed & worn out. It is meant to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Saviour. We give each other gifts as a way of showing appreciation & love, just as the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. Gift giving is meant to be a joyful thing, not something that becomes stressful & over extravagant.
There is a Christmas song that I love, which is such a helpful reminder of how Jesus came:
And accompanying my lunch was the soothing scent of my orange & cinnamon candle. Deliciousness in a tin.
Well, yes, it can be a little stressful. Today I am trying to tie up lose ends before we head East for Christmas.n We're leaving this afternoon, and, as usual, there is still a lot to do.
Where am I going with this? I hear you wonder. At 12pm today, I started to feel hungry, but was in the middle of doing a 3 hour stint on my children's Learning Diaries and was not ready to stop for lunch. Fuelled by my mid morning caffeine fix (which was free!) and a desire to get all of my jobs done, I kept on going with my hungry tummy in tow.
Once I finished my learning diaries, I whizzed round the kitchen to do a quick tidy, then headed for the lounge to do some present wrapping. It was at that point where I was reminded of the phrase one of our school Reverend's used at the start of the academic year: Hit the ground kneeling. His wise words gently encouraged us of the great importance of being still in times of busyness. To stop, if only for a moment, and be still.
I needed to stop & eat. I could quite happily bypass lunch, or just eat a bowl of granola, rather than make the effort of preparing something. But today, I needed to make a meal of it. To sit down and eat something nourishing, and make myself stop & remember why we celebrate Christmas.
And this is the point. Christmas is not meant to be about rushing around frantically, getting stressed & worn out. It is meant to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Saviour. We give each other gifts as a way of showing appreciation & love, just as the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. Gift giving is meant to be a joyful thing, not something that becomes stressful & over extravagant.
There is a Christmas song that I love, which is such a helpful reminder of how Jesus came:
you came like a Winter snow,
quiet, soft & slow.
falling from the sky in the night
to the Earth below
Jesus, the son of God, the one who came to Earth, who healed the sick & gave great hope to the lost & hurting, was then crucified, and by His death, we can have life. Jesus came to Earth as a baby. Jesus, the King, started life in the most humble of beginnings, and He is the reason for Christmas. Whether or not you believe in Jesus, we would not have Christmas without Him.
When I started this post, I did not quite anticipate it ending up where it has. If you are still with me, thank you for reading this far!
So, to finish, the little lunch that gave me the time to stop, refuel & remember:
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