Several months back, my daughter was beginning to pack up for college. I encouraged her to start with “cleaning out” her room—getting rid of junk she didn’t need or want anymore.
One morning during the “cleaning out” phase, I opened my daughter’s bedroom door. When I say I could not find the floor, I am not exaggerating.
Not to be dramatic, but it was like walking into the aftermath of a small, localized tornado. Friends, if you have teenagers, I know your eyes have beheld similar sights. I even noticed some of my dishes in one corner of the floor. My dishes, for heaven’s sake! My first thought was that there was no way to enjoy being in that room until the mess was cleared. How could we possibly sit together and have meaningful conversation surrounded by all the clutter?
We’ve all experienced messes like this in one form or another. Some cover a kitchen counter, leaving no space to prep the food, and some fill an entire room.
This mayhem of mess is what I think of when I look at my holiday calendar. I stare down one activity after the other, and I can almost hear the calendar laughing back at me: “Ha! And you thought you’d have space for rest?”
For a long time, I assumed rest required clearing the mess. If I just created enough margin in the calendar, or finished enough tasks to get things under control, then I could experience the peace I longed for during the holidays. In my mind, the proverbial room needed to be picked up before I could rest in it.
But I no longer believe that’s the case. The holidays are always going to be busy; added responsibilities and extra activities will inevitably fill our calendar. Sure, there are times when we need to say no to unnecessary clutter, but I no longer believe that rest requires an empty calendar.
So, maybe the goal shouldn’t be clearing away the busyness, but instead creating space within it—space for our hearts to receive God’s Word, to worship, and to delight in what is ultimately important. This small change in perspective has helped me rediscover rest amid the holiday mayhem.
Space to Receive
No matter how full your calendar might be, there is always time to spend with Jesus. Always! It may mean going to bed a little earlier so you can get up a little earlier. Or it may mean tapping into the self-discipline needed to stop scrolling and instead open your Bible.
Space to receive from God’s Word is life-giving. Think of it like your sustenance for the day. You can try to run all day on a few peanuts and a bottle of water, but at the end of the day, your body will respond physically. It will remind you that you need more for your brain and body to do all the things in front of you.
The same is true spiritually when it comes to our time with Jesus in his Word. You need it to nourish your heart and your soul. You need time with him to receive his promises and to remember why you don’t need to be a frantic mess. You need his words to calm you, to remind you that even when things around you feel like they’re falling apart, you have a firm foundation to stand on.
You need his Word to remember that you have a Savior who came to earth to pay the penalty for your sins so that you might have the hope of eternity and the promise of his Spirit, who will help you in the here and now. We have so much to be thankful for—the very busy calendar is proof. God’s Word reminds us of that goodness, so we need to create a little space in the middle of the chaos to receive his truth.
Space to Worship
We also need the space to worship during the holiday season. Really, we need this all year around, but especially when our calendars feel like their filled to the brim.
This may seem counterintuitive, but corporate worship is a way for us to recalibrate. That word means to adjust a measuring tool or change an approach so it works with maximum accuracy.
Worship acts as a tool to help you and your family readjust, or recalibrate, your hearts and your minds—and even your calendars. The daily grind can easily cause us to lose focus on what’s ultimately important. Before we know it, we’re measuring our worth, our work, and even our kids by worldly standards instead of what God’s desires.
Worship is a way to take a deep breath and reset. It causes us to lift our eyes to our Savior and reorient our perspective. We get the spiritual sustenance we need for our week through singing, the sacraments, and the preaching of God’s Word. Worship is a necessary part of our week, and God has given it to us—and to our kids—as a gift. Prioritize this space amid the busy season and you will experience that soul rest you long for.
Space to Delight
And we need space to delight in what is most important this holiday season. Sometimes we’re so busy with our kids’ activities that we forget to simply delight in our kids. Don’t worry so much about the to-do list that you have no space to sit on your daughter’s bed and give her uninterrupted time to talk about the day. Don’t be overly concerned with getting the food prepped that you have no space to take a walk with your son on a warmer winter day.
The gospel reminds us that we can rest because Christ has done exactly what we cannot do for ourselves. Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus invites us to come to him, he doesn’t tell us to get our lives together first? He says, “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). We don’t have to clean up the mess of our sin or get our lives in order before coming to Jesus. He invites us to come to him in our weariness and with our burdens because he alone gives the rest our soul needs. We will always have limits, but that’s the beauty of Christ’s sufficiency. Really, that’s the beauty of the Christmas season.
Delight in it.
Create a little space to delight in the goodness around you. Allow yourself a few minutes to take in the beauty of your decorated tree. Sit quietly and listen to your favorite Christmas music for just a bit. Create some space to delight in the magnificence of this season.
When I went back into my daughter’s room later that evening, I sat on the corner of her bed. It was the one little spot that wasn’t cluttered with clothes and hair products and dishes. We talked about the day and enjoyed some uninterrupted time together. I’d been so focused on what needed to be cleared away that I missed what was available to enjoy right in the middle of the mess. It was a few sweet moments of rest.
Create a little space this holiday season to receive, to worship, and to delight, and I bet you’ll discover, too, that rest was never really dependent on clearing the clutter. It’s always been available right in the midst of it.
Rooted’s Family Discipleship Courses equip parents to faithfully disciple their children and teenagers to lifelong faith in Jesus. Our courses provide practical help and guidance centered around the truths of the gospel.
