Doing Christmas with Gladness
2005 at 8:22 am | by Janelle BradshawFiled under Homemaking Holidays and Seasons
Happy Monday, everyone! Did you know that there are only two more Mondays until Christmas? Now, I’m not trying to strike fear into anyone’s heart, but I imagine that you (like me) have quite a few things on the agenda before the 25’th day of this month arrives. This week I have three parties, a few meetings, one doctor’s appointment, an overnight retreat, Christmas shopping--and all this needs to fit in somewhere between keeping up on home and job. I peeked at my calendar through half closed eyes this morning only to see that the next two weeks seem to have even more.
Now, I would like to say that I usually run around to events like these with a happy smile set on my face and mirrored in my heart. Not always. If you saw me, you may see a smile, but my heart often looks a little bit different. Complaining and grumbling sometimes find a home. I move from one task and event to the next, caught up in how I feel and what I would rather be doing instead.
Today I read something from one of our favorite authors, Mr. Charles Spurgeon. He never knew me, but seemed to pen these words just for me and my December…
“Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness…Reader, let us put this question—do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.”
My mission this month? To apply these wise words. I need to oil my wheels of service with an extra dose of “holy cheerfulness” so that a watching world will see my relationship with the Lord as a delight and not slavery. I want those that encounter me over these next few weeks to see that I serve a “good Master.”