Treasure these Things

Christmas is coming. It might be only October but already plum puddings and decorations are filling the stores. Which is great. At least, every other year I would have thought so. This year, for some reason, I just about had a panic attack in the middle of Woolworths three weeks ago (in September!!! Don't they usually wait until after Halloween???) when I saw them. Yep, one little plum pudding had me waging a silent all-out war to keep my heart and lungs from fleeing the scene as I stood there clutching my trolley like the lifeline it was. 

I love Christmas, I really do. I love the fun, the traditions, the joy, the food, the decorations in every store, the music, the lights, the wonder of finding a king in a stable, the fun of finding just the right gifts and wrapping them as I sing along to my favourite carols... Basically, everything about it. I'm one of those people who wander up and down the Christmas aisles at the stores purely for the delight of it and put my Christmas tree up in early November because I love how beautiful it looks - and may or may not have a couple of sneaky Christmas decorations up all year round...

It’s not Christmas which has me freaking out. It’s the fact that it’s coming. And I’m not ready. Give it two months and I might be. Maybe. Probably not. I just feel like this year is moving way too fast. Faster than I can keep up with. Like if I close my eyes even for a moment, years will pass. I want to hold on, stop the world spinning for a few hours and just breathe.

Anyone else with me there? 

It’s hard to slow down. Even harder to actually stop. 

Funny that Christmas, the one thing I’m trying so hard not to think about right now, might just hold the answers to my problem. I know, Jesus is the answer to everything (unless it’s Abraham :p) but this time, it’s Mary. 

Specifically, the way she stopped. Took time to treasure the moments. The Christmas story mentions a couple of times that she did it. After angels sent the shepherds to visit her new little family… ‘but Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart’ (Luke 2:19), and after she lost Jesus as a child only to find him in the temple… ‘but his mother treasured all these things in her heart’ (Luke 2:51).

I’m no expert on the culture of that time and maybe it means something different but when I read that, I see Mary stopping, closing her eyes and capturing the wonder of it all. Reliving it in those minutes before she falls asleep at night. Thanking God for the privilege. It’s purposeful rather than something that happened by accident. She chose to treasure them. 

It didn’t happen by chance. It was a choice. To stop, to sit in wonder, to treasure those moments. 

Yes, Christmas is coming. Yes, time is passing way faster than I’m happy with. No, there’s nothing I can do about it. 

But I can make the choice to stop. To listen. To treasure these moments. The hard ones, the impatient ones, the times when injury forces me to stop and the times I walk in wonder through parks filled with more beauty than any human could ever create. It’s a choice. 

It’s hard to stop, especially going into the crazy busy season which is coming whether we like it or not, but like Mary, I want to treasure these things. Not rush through them be purposeful about cherishing them. Noticing them. The moments.  

For me, that means making a list now (yep, in October) of what I need to do for Christmas so I can start thinking about it now rather than them all piling up in December (sidenote, did you know you can write Christmas cards in October??? Crazy! :p But, believe it or not, the whole world doesn't blow up if you get them done early. Why have I not thought of this before???) and being really intentional about making space to rest and/or just sit (and refusing to feel guilty about it). Already the stress is feeling less since I've sorted out Christmas cards and end of year teacher gifts. 

I don't know what it'll look like for you - maybe being more prepared, maybe being less, maybe doing less or simply being more intentional about what you do do - but I challenge you to find a way, before it gets totally crazy, to treasure these things.