Seeking Savior Time: Christmas Worship and New Years' Goal Setting

Santa has only one focus once a year. It’s his only job and he’s good at it. The rest of us can easily get bogged down this time of year. Unlike Santa we have one paying job and on top of that we make the list of goodies to get then have to run around and purchase them all. On top of that we’re baking and attending parties; the church social, the church sub-committee social, the work social and the social for the inner circle at work. Stack New Years Eve on top of that and you’ve got a full plate for the season. It gets overwhelming and before we know it we’ve completely lost sight of the important things.


Some nights ago the daughter was out with the boyfriend and the wife had gone shopping while asking me to do the dishes while I was at home. There I was in the kitchen with Pandora booming out Christmas songs on the Tennessee Ernie Ford holiday station. Caroling at the top of my lungs is when it hit me. The house was quiet. I wasn’t running to and fro; I was standing calmly at the sink and singing. That is what we miss so easily. At Christmas we should make time to be still and worship. Isn’t that the point of the Wise Men/Manger motif? On New Years we should carve out the time to set goals for the year and to review the year past?

Between the frantic running around and the friend and family time try and find some shepherd seeking Saviour time. Make that time to ruminate on the blessings you have. Take time to whisper, “Thanks,” to God and rest quietly at His feet. Take some deep breaths and forget making the list and checking it over and over like you have OCD. Refocus and remind yourself why you are buying the gifts and baking the cookies. It’s the giving and the celebrating. Find the quiet.

It’s easy to make New Years all about the party, or the games or the day off. What’s it really about anyway? Why not go to your favorite park with a journal and list the joys and heartaches of 2013. Take some time to dream. What could 2014 look like if you made some small changes? Walk into the New Year calmly; don’t run as if 2013 is still on your heels.

Find the quiet and rest there. Be contemplative. See if there is any Frankincense and Myrrh in your garage. Then go lay it at the feet of the Savior; resting there, in the quiet, listening, to your heart and hearing, truly hearing, what it says.