Flourishing Life

Oh, the holiday season! What joy, what excitement, what festiveness! Yes, Christmas is a wonderful celebration but it can also bring stress for many. Some fall into the comparison trap when they see everyone else’s “perfect Christmas” on Instagram. Others run into financial strain as they overdo it in the gift-buying department. There’s a real temptation to run yourself ragged trying to keep up with the frenzy of the “do more, be more” holiday pace. We can easily find ourselves emotionally exhausted and spiritually drained. Loneliness can also pose a real challenge for those whose families are far away, no longer with them, or estranged. Some have their families, but this creates the problem as some family reunions feel more like emotional escape rooms. Yes, the holidays can overflow with good cheer but they can also come littered with emotional and spiritual landmines.

So, how do you keep Christmas from becoming something to survive rather than receive? Well, give yourself permission to stop trying to do everything. You don’t have to attend every gathering, say yes to every invitation, or meet every expectation—real or imagined. It’s okay to simplify. Sometimes faithfulness looks like showing up rested rather than everywhere.

Pay attention to what you use to cope. The holidays can amplify unhealthy habits, especially when stress, grief, or loneliness are present. Be mindful of alcohol, drugs, or anything else that promises relief but ultimately leaves you more depleted. Numbing the pain doesn’t heal it—it just postpones it.

If this season carries grief for you, know that you are not alone. Many churches offer Blue Christmas services—quiet, honest spaces that acknowledge loss and sorrow without forcing cheer. These services remind us that Christ came not just for our joy, but for our wounds. If one is offered in your area, consider attending. Sometimes naming the darkness is the first step toward encountering the light.

Keep in mind that Christmas doesn’t require curated memories or flawless traditions. After all, the first Christmas was anything but polished. It unfolded in obscurity, inconvenience, and interruption. Meaning still tends to show up the same way—through the ordinary and unremarkable, not perfection.

Make space—actual space—for God. That might mean stepping away from the noise for a few minutes each day, sitting in silence, praying the Psalms, lighting an Advent candle, or simply breathing and remembering that you are not the savior of Christmas. God already took care of that.

Reframe and remember what this holiday is really about. Ultimately, it’s not about gifts or events or expectations. This is the season, when we remember the most impactful happening of all: the Incarnation of the Son of God, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This singular event split history in two.

Now, some might argue—and they would have a good point—that the resurrection is more important than the birth of Jesus. But without the birth there is no teaching, no miracles, no sacrificial death on the cross, no resurrection, and no ascension. Truthfully, we hold all of these together when we talk about the life of Jesus. In that sense, the birth is where it all begins (really, the Annunciation—but I digress).

The heart of this holiday is the celebration of Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished for us—what we could never do for ourselves: salvation. As the Nicene Creed puts it, “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”

For us. For humanity. For you. God became human—for your salvation.

Jesus is God in the flesh come to reveal God’s heart of love toward us. This Christmas, no matter what gifts you give or receive, don’t miss the whole point of the whole thing, the gift of God, the gift of salvation, the gift of hope and grace and peace.