Guest Post - "The Doing of Christmas"

I am a doer, and I come from a long line of doers. Despite being in their late 70’s, my grandparents get up every day with a list of things to do, and they don’t stop until it is checked twice. The holidays are a busy time for my extended family. We usually gather together four times over a 2 week period to celebrate family, gifts, and my grandmother’s baked Christmas goodies.

Before my chronic pain, I enjoyed the 8 hour Christmas Day marathon of eating, unwrapping presents, and playing games. I loved joining my family in the busyness of the Christmas season – shopping, baking, decorating, and ministering to those in need with the Church. But now, even normal everyday tasks are often a challenge for me and sitting is torture, which often makes family gatherings miserable.

I am no longer able to be a “doer”.

It’s easy to get sucked into the mentality that Christmas = busyness, and if you are not involved in the hustle and bustle of taking your children to all the Christmas traditions you enjoyed then you aren’t really celebrating Christmas. And it’s even more tempting to think that you aren’t serving God if you can’t ring bells for the Salvation Army, buy clothing for a needy family or cook a meal for the local homeless shelter.

But what does God say about doing and being busy?

 

To read the rest of my post go to Finding Purpose in the Pain where I am posting today as a contributing writer.