Well, if you are reading this…it means you survived Thanksgiving. I hope it was a meaningful time for you as you counted all your blessings.
Now, the race is on for Christmas as we continue with the holiday madness of cooking, cleaning, shopping…so that we can spend love-filled, heartwarming, Hallmark-like time at various family gatherings. Right? OK…maybe that’s not what will take place for you between now and the end of the year. I hope it is a fair description…but unfortunately, I know that for some…the days ahead hold everything but a loving family scene.
I wrote last week about the do’s and don’ts of blessings…but I know that just counting those things which have blessed us…doesn’t always help us with the relationships in our lives which are in disarray. We may get along great with our spouse, but please don’t make us be in the same room with certain family members. Or, maybe we get along fine with our family, but please God, don’t make us sit in the same pew at church with that hypocrite who only shows up at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Most people have someone in their life who really irritates them. This may be someone with whom they have a strained relationship or someone who just knows how to push their buttons. And while it is often fairly easy to avoid these difficult people during the rest of the year…it sometimes is impossible to do so at holidays or special events…causing more stress than most are willing to endure.
Maybe the questions we need to ask ourselves when we are faced with these types of circumstances are, What can I do to change this situation? Can I make this person change? The answer is no. If I nag and nag and nag will the situation get better? The answer is no. If I whine, complain and grumble about it to everyone I meet will it make the holidays bearable? The answer is probably no.
If I pray for this person and our relationship…will God hear my prayers? The answer is yes. If I pray for this person and our relationship…can God begin to change the other person and me? The answer is yes. If I pray for this person and our relationship…will my heart begin to soften and will I begin to see this person through God’s eyes instead of mine? The answer is probably yes.
I Corinthians 13 is often referred to as the love chapter and I really like how some of the verses are written in the version The Message. They say:
“So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first”,
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.”
WOW. I know if I am honest, I fall way short in living out these verses on a daily basis. I’m guessing if I really took these words seriously…using them as my guide for how to pray for those who push my buttons…I just might see God work in a mighty way. What could God accomplish if each day I prayed,
“God, help me to never give up loving _________ (insert name). Help me to care more for him/her than myself. Lord, help me not to think that I am better than him/her and help me to not fly off the handle when I am irritated. Help me to not rank sins…pointing out his/her indiscretions and neglecting to ask for forgiveness for mine. Father, help me to trust you with _________ (insert name) and our relationship…knowing that you are able to do far more than I can even imagine. Help me Lord to always be the person that you want me to be…until the day when you call me home. Amen.”
If we are looking for something to give Jesus this year for His birthday…I have a feeling He would love for you and me to commit to praying this prayer every day. Who knows…maybe in doing this our holiday will end up being what it was intended to be…a time of praise and a time of celebrating Jesus’ birth…instead of a stressful time of button pushing
