The Reason For The Season

I hope you are enjoying Blogmas so far! Today I wanted to dive into what Christmas is truly about, what it means for me, and how you can join me in celebrating the reason for the season. 

My faith is very important to me, even though there have been times where I haven’t been as intentional with it as I could have this year. This is the first year that I will be attending church during this season. I am so excited and expectant to grow my faith even more as we celebrate Jesus’s birth.

This year has been a transformative year to say the least. While I have been working on my personal growth, God helped me grow spiritually as well. I saw the connection between those two areas of growth in ways that I’ve never seen before. 

I started going to physical church again in the middle of January, only to have to go back online once COVID started becoming more widespread and serious. This time was different though because I still was connected to my church community, something I had never had before. Right before we had to move online I had actually rededicated my life to Christ and made plans to get baptized. 

I noticed as my faith started to get stronger, my depression was becoming less and less apparent. It was God letting me know that He can get me through any storm as I rely on Him. Recently I’ve started getting stuck in a funk again, I noticed I haven’t been reading my Bible and praying as much as I used to either. With the help of counseling and the sermons I hear each Sunday. I’m starting to find my strength and awareness again. The Christmas season is a way for me to reflect on all the amazing things Jesus has done in my life, and all the things He has planned for my future. 

Christmas can turn into a stressful and busy season if we let it. It’s important to remember that it’s more about Jesus’s birth, and less about finding the perfect present. I’ve found the making that my main focus, the stress and busyness of it all becomes less apparent, and we can truly appreciate the season. Here are a few ways we can do that as Christmas comes closer and closer.

Read the story of Jesus

This year I want to prioritize reading the story of Jesus, from birth to the Resurrection. The Gospels are a great way to do that. If you don’t have a physical Bible you could just download the free Bible app. The Gospels are at the beginning of the New Testament, and they are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You can find a reading plan by searching Google or Pinterest. If you are using the Bible app there are several different reading plans/devotionals that you can choose from.

Get connected to a community

This year I have discovered just how important community is. I started the year lonely and not connected, but I’m ending the year with a church family and some other friendships I’ve made/continued. I’ve learned to not retreat to myself when I’m going through a hard time, something I had a bad habit of doing prior to this year. A great way to connect with a community and grow spiritually is to do a bible study or read a devotional together. It will give you accountability and help you understand what you are reading in a deeper way.

Pray for a renewed focus

Lastly, if you get caught up in all the Christmas shopping, activities, etc., it’s okay. Give yourself grace and remember that you are only human. When I start to feel myself forgetting the reason for the season I like to pray for a renewed focus on why Christmas is important. This helps me pause and redirect. 

I’ll see you back here tomorrow for more Blogmas fun.