HOPE Chapel

It is that time of year again.  The pace of activities is accelerating and will soono reach a frenetic, breakneck speed that can threaten to overwhelm anyone in any situation.
- we have Thanksgiving followed only 5 weeks later by Christmas
- there is food to buy, gifts to purchase, travel arrangements to be made
- children and youth activities reach a peak, whether it is band, sports, drama, clubs, church or the other multitude of things available today
- we want to take time for holiday parties, families, and inviting friends over
- new movies are being released, football season is in full swing and our entertainment plate is as full as ever

It is often hard to create space for the things that matter.  Usually, I take the tack of trying to fit in the important things along with everything else.  I play the game of "AND" instead of "OR".  I want to do everything, please everyone, and make sure that everything gets accomplished in its time and place.

Yet as I reflect back over the years, and the many holidays and celebrations I've had or been a part of, it is not the movies I watched, the programs I attended, the gifts I bought or received that remain in my thinking.  It was the significant time with family, relatives and friends.  It was the new thought or idea from God that drew me closer to him.  Those times when I was not rushed, when we put up the decorations together, when we tried to untangle the lights for another year, when we sat around the table with friends and ate and played games, those times stick in my memory as the sweetest. 

So this year, I am resolved to make space for what is important.  For what God says is important!  If certain things don't happen because I made space for the other, that's OK.  When I look back years later on this holiday season, I want to remember significant times with God and others.