This is the start of my newest piece for Risen Motherhood. You can read the entire article here!
Too often, the Christmas season starts to feel like an overwhelming amount of work for moms. For many of us, there are decorations to put up, presents to purchase or make, school activities to help with, meals to prepare, travel arrangements to plan, and—in the midst of it all—Advent to (hopefully) attend to.
But what if instead of working to make Christmas “happen” for ourselves and our families this year—what if we played? What if we took our own kind of break and set down the culture-induced pressure to strive for a perfect Christmas? Then, we could focus on the true play of Christmastime: delighting in and celebrating the gift that has already been given to us in the form of the Christ child who came as a baby.
As mothers, we have the choice this season to take a break from the world’s expectations and focus on playing during Advent, rather than working. That’s not to say that there won’t be work involved this year—no matter the season, motherhood is full of good and holy work. But there are ways that we can attend to the season of Advent with an attitude of playfulness and rest that has the opportunity to encourage our souls.
This Christmas, let’s seek to enable our souls to benefit from play in the truest sense: the intentional enjoyment of God and his good gifts. Why? Here are three reasons…
Read the rest of the article here, at Risen Motherhood!
