Savor the Non-Holidayness, Too

As you start this week, possibly looking into a tunnel called A Busy Holiday Week, may you find the courage to enjoy the everyday little bits that aren’t, in fact, holiday at all. May you relish the regular, and be brave enough to call is just as sacred as the twinkle lights and the nativity scene on the shelf.

For some reason this year, I’m finding it hard to take in Holiday Stuff beyond small doses at a time. I’ve never once thought of myself as a Scrooge, and yet I feel this inner ache in me to keep Christmas in a quieter way this year—less Pinteresty, less gumdroppy, and more of an acknowledgment that December 25, for all intents and purposes, is an ordinary day where we just so happen to thank God for a very unordinary event in history.

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy the flavored coffee drinks and Elf, and I’m not one to shy away from Christmas music. But the past few days, I’ve been quite thankful for my plain, black coffee that greets me like an old friend each morning, and the “regular” music in my earbuds when I need a break from happy elves.

Because friends, the everyday is sacred. Don’t forget that. Enjoy the holiday season, but don’t stress out about it because you feel like you have to make it special. Life is already chock full of the daily beautiful. It’s already special.

This quote from Paul Stevens has been rattling around in my head lately—maybe you need this reminder right now, too: “Earth is crammed with heaven, and heaven (when we finally get there) will be crammed with Earth. Nothing wasted. Nothing lost. Nothing secular. Nothing absurd…. All are grist for the mill of a down-to-earth spirituality.”

Savor the festive season, yes. But don’t force it into this pre-made shape called A Very Special Holiday and lose sight over the loveliness that all of life, even in its non-holidayness, is crammed with heaven. There is glory in the grist.