12/14/04
Dear TwinkleGrammers,
Twas the week before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was …
SANE!
Just kidding, right? You're sane, right? You're centered, right? You're singing Christmas carols in your heart, right?
You're giving thanks to God for the gift of His son, right?
WHAT?! You say screams of hysteria have replaced your fa-la-la? You say your default mode this week before Christmas is PANIC?
If you have answered yes or no to any of the above questions, dependent upon which paragraph I placed them in, perhaps it's time for you to S T O P reading. I mean it. S T O P reading this right now and don't come back to it until you have made yourself a cup of Christmas tea (or café latte froo froo --- I don't drink coffee, can you tell?) or turned on soft music or closed your eyes and taken ten deep cleansing breaths.
WAIT! Have you done the above yet? If not, I MEAN IT! S T O P and center yourself, then proceed.
Okay, since I'm writing this at 6:20 a.m. on a Tuesday morning (I had eight hours of uninterrupted sleep last night and awoke early and refreshed! THANK YOU, GOD!), I'm going to assume you have all followed the above directions and are either sipping or still breathing from your diaphragms. I have hopefully pointed out to you that you are CAPABLE of deep breathing, even though it IS a week before Christmas (did your heart just give a quick one-two blip again?).
Why am I doing this? (Even if you didn't ask me, I just did.) Because I recently went through a severe bout of burnout. Yes, me. The one who talks about how not to miss your life. The one who gives all this good advice. The one who crashed and burned and was incapable of moving forward for several weeks.
But now I am recovered, and let me tell you that hindsight is an interesting and often Extremely Wisened view. I now realize that for months before the crash-and-burn, my default mode had become DO NOT STOP. I CANNOT STOP. TOO MUCH TO DO. And then one day my body and mind said, Ready or not, you are stopped. You are crying uncontrollably. You are yelling. You are not sleeping. You are snapping at everyone. (notice no hints of fa-la-la) You cannot stand yourself. And now, you are stopped. And it wasn't even the week before Christmas. (race-race goes your heart again, but do not give in to it)
And so, dear readers, because even though I don't know many of you, I care about you because you are my brothers and sisters in LIFE and I don't want you to go through that. And the Christmas season—even though the angel came to announce it with words of PEACE and GOOD WILL—sadly can lead us into a default mode of thinking which fakes us into believing, I CANNOT STOP. And the more often we buy into that errant message, the more chaotic and panicked we can become as the countdown ticks on toward Christmas morning.
So, take another breath, another sip, and read this little prayer. It is from my book The 12 Dazes of Christmas & One Holy Night. But don't just read it, pray it as you go.
***
Lord, save me from making a mockery out of your great love and sacrifice for me. Cause your Word to vibrate in my heart when I forget why we call this Christ-mas.
Help my spirit of giving be filled with your Spirit of mercy and love for my family and friends. Stop me from judging strangers on trains and street corners, with their own stresses and maybe even purple hair. Save me from greed and commercialism—and from the sin of ever seeing any of your precious children as simply one more person to buy for, then cross off out lists.
Empower me to recognize what doesn't need to be done, and give me the good grace to let go of it. Help me to remember as I shop and wrap that you are watching me make the choices.
When I encounter a crabby salesperson or cranky child, may your light shine through my responses. When I look in the mirror and see my own frazzled self, may I remember to look to you, from whom my strength and refreshment comes.
Help me to remember what you have already done in my life, for it is in studying your sovereignty, not in buying worldly possessions, that I will find peace and joy and truth.
Amen and Merry Everything, my Dear TwinkleGrammers,
Charlene
PS As always, please pass this on to anyone you think might need it.
PSS If you have had this passed along to you, you can get your very own free subscription by visiting www.dontmissyourlife.com/subscribe.html You can read previous TwinkleGrams by clicking on the Words to Help You Twinkle bar on that same page.
Don't forget to remember that you can S T O P!
Charlene Ann Baumbich
Recovered Burnout Babe
Sanity Street USA
Web site: http://www.welcometopartonville.com
E-mail: charlene@dontmissyourlife.com
To Read About the Dearest Dorothy Books, Click HERE!
