As this week approached, I felt the Lord whisper to me that I should remind His children to stay mindful. At first I resisted the idea. Talking about mindfulness the week of Christmas doesn’t seem very festive to me. Then I thought about holiday schedules, travel, and gatherings—often shoe-horned in with an already busy work schedule—and I understood.
Staying mindful of the Christ child—the reason for the season—can be a challenge this week.
All too often our minds are filled with the scheduled appointments or assignments on our calendars—as well as the to do list that runs constantly through our minds. It can be very easy to focus on what needs to be done, where I have to be, or who I’m meeting next, rather than the God who loved the world so much that He sent His son in the form of a baby human to bring us back into right relationship with Him.
In November I wrote a series of blog posts about mindfulness. You can read the series here. For the dive into holiday mindfulness I’d like to start with the Deborah Gall definition of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the act of recognizing and shaping thoughts, words, and actions in order to live purposefully as who God created you to be.
Mindfulness its remembering, recognizing, and being present with the intentionality of moving beyond the the list of scheduled appointments, to do lists, and assignments.
Mindful living this week is carving out daily time to remember Jesus, our Savior, who was born in a manger because there was no room in the inn. Mindful loving means showing others kindness even when we may also feel frazzled and overwhelmed.
Let John 3: 16 be the verse we mindfully dwell on this week.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
As you move toward Christmas Day, ponder with Holy Spirit what it means to you that our God loves you enough to give Jesus over to be sacrificed on your behalf.
It might just change your life.
Merry Christmas!