December

Does anyone else have trouble fitting it all in with the right attitude in December?

My first struggle is that the passing of time in life now is so different than when I was still teaching. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that I was on a "school calendar" from age 6 to age 43, with only one year off anywhere along the way, and even that was sort of around a school year. There were always events and benchmarks so I knew what came next. Now, time just passes, so Christmas sneaks up on me each year.

Next, there are way too many fun and neat things all pressed into the same small time span - the kinds of things that only come around at Christmas and are wonderful eye and ear "candy." How can I possibly take them all in? And, I never want to miss anything!

My goal this year is to slow down enough to totally engage in the season and all its fullness - I know when I do that I will see God's miracle on our behalf in a new light, with new hope. That's not likely to be easy, but I think it is critical. Otherwise, I will miss too many wonderful and meaningful moments that I will wish later that I could remember clearly.

So, here goes - the commitment to sleep enough, exercise enough (esPECially when things get the busiest), eat sensibly, and remember that only the Word of God and people last forever... It's my goal to be focused on those things. Then, the right things will fit in, and the attitude will come along, too.