Where's Your Focus? by Steph Beth Nickel

Despite the fact that the Christmas season revolves around the Saviour’s birth, even we who are Christian can become overwhelmed and distracted.

Let’s seek to focus on what’s truly important this month and as we head into 2018.

While we do our Christmas shopping …

Maybe you love to hunt for the perfect gift for each person on your Christmas list—whether online or in the stores. Or maybe you find it all exhausting, having no idea what people want or need. Maybe you’re stressed because of time and financial constraints.  

While we’re considering gift giving, let’s take time to step back and consider the Greatest Gift of All Time, our Lord and Saviour, the reason for this and every season.

While we decorate …

The tree. The lights. The Christmas village. Whatever constitutes decorating in your home can bring joy and delight or simply add to the burden of all that needs to be done before the 25^th. (For my hubby, it brings excitement and delight. This is definitely his favourite time of the year.)

While we’re brightening up our little corner of the world, let’s turn our thoughts to the Light of the World. In these dark days, may we seek to make Him known.

While we write our Christmas cards …

Are you like me, remembering at basically the last minute that you need to pick up at least a couple of boxes of cards, get them written, and in the mail—at least before Christmas has come and gone? Perhaps you bought cards last year, when they were on sale, and already have them in the mail. Kudos to you if that’s the case!

As we’re preparing our cards, it’s a great time to pray for each recipient and thank the Lord for bringing them into our life. Plus, the cards we choose can be a low key way of sharing the gospel with the unbelievers on our list.

While we gather with family and friends …

The extra social obligations at this time of year may fill you with delight if 1) you get to connect with precious friends and family members you rarely get to see and/or 2) you’re an extravert who thrives on these kinds of gatherings.

If, however, you’re an introvert, as many creatives are, and /or there is friction between the people 

you spend time with or friction between yourself and one or more of them, it can be an incredibly challenging time.

Thankfully, we have the assurance in Romans 8:28 that God works everything out for our good. We can pray for each individual and each situation. And who knows? Maybe God will use our presence to bring peace and positivity to these gatherings.

While we make plans for the new year …

And, of course, this is the time of the year when many of us look to the year ahead, set goals, and make plans as to how to achieve those goals. This may bring a sense of expectation and excitement or it may weigh on us—especially if we’ve done so in the past, only to fall short of our goals.

Dreams and aspirations can be good things. They can motivate us to keep pressing forward. And should we stumble—which we all will, those dreams can cause us to get back up, brush ourselves off, and continue on.

But have we committed our dreams and aspirations, our goals and plans to the Lord? Have we asked Him to have His way in our life? Are we willing to surrender to His will if it’s different from what we expected?

Twenty-eighteen is a good year to recommit ourselves to pursuing His plans and purposes for us. And we can start by prayerfully pursuing Him amidst the busyness of the Christmas season.