Standing at the beginning of December, I’m already seeing very full days when I look at my calendar.  The joy and excitement of the Christmas season can often be matched equally with busyness, and busyness quickly leaves little room for anything else.  

We find packed calendars instead of leaving room for quieting ourselves.  We find ourselves wading deep in stress instead of leaving room for peace.  We begin drowning in parades, lights, parties, baking, Santa, holiday movies and Christmas shopping, instead of leaving room for being still and remembering why we are celebrating.  We can easily find ourselves doing so much, yet not remembering to intentionally make room for the One who we are celebrating this season.

Even on that very night when Jesus was born into this world, there was no room for Him.  As Mary and Joseph searched for a place to come in that night, they couldn’t find anyone who had room for them.  It wasn’t until an innkeeper finally made room that the Savior of the world was born.  We need to remember this season to make room for the most important part of Christmas: Christ.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in the manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” –  Luke 2:7

I’m a Christmas junkie and love all things Christmas celebration, lights, parades, parties, and all of the festivities.  In the same breath, I’m also a homebody: an introvert who not just likes her quiet and alone time but desperately needs it for sanity and de-stressing.  When I pull up my calendar and see something marked on nearly every box in the month of December, I can feel my stress levels rise without having even done any activities yet, despite how good and fun those activities would be.

When both my introvert-self and Christmas-junkie-self come hand in hand, it makes for a rather awkward marriage.  I imagine there are a number of you who resonate and understand exactly what I mean; the deep desire to do all the fun Christmas things (because despite the Christmas season being more than three weeks, it just doesn’t feel like enough time for it all!) and simultaneously the aching need to just curl up in the quiet of your home in front of the fire.  How do you do both and not sacrifice one for the other? How do you make room for what matters in this season?

For me to try to successfully do both, I’ve had to carve out specific time to quiet myself.  I already wake up earlier than my children for such a reason so this seems like a perfectly good time to be intentional with my heart, mind, and relationships in this Christmas season.  Women, if you’re like me, you’re the member of your family leading what activities get put on your calendar. With this also comes the responsibility of not tiring your family with so many activities that the proper room is not made for Christ.  We must not just be hopeful in trying to leave room for Jesus, but we need to intentionally make room.  

My morning quiet times are always dear to me but especially so in the Christmas season.  Sitting quietly in the soft light of the tree, with the fireplace raging, and a hot cup of coffee in hand makes for a beautiful and delightful quiet time.  Not just for the glamour and ambiance of the space but for the intentional room and rest I make in my heart during this otherwise busy time. For if I am not first pointing my own heart back to Jesus and clearing space for Him, how well can I lead my family’s activities to do the same?  

Friends, I want to encourage you to intentionally make room for Christ this season.  Let the other noise quiet down and rest in praise and the knowledge that a Savior was born unto us, and God is with us. He made room for our names in his book of life and gave up his space in heaven to come down to redeem our broken world.   

“’Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.  For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’  All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:18-25

Kayla Anderson is married (for better or for worse) to the one who she knows without a doubt that God created her to be companions with.  Together they have four young children, Ezekiel, Asher, Ellery, and Alder, and run a hand-crafted soap shop.  She is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom and is in a season of learning how to gracefully be the central point and glue of their family.  Thank the Lord that she has Him to look to for wisdom, guidance, and strength!  She loves reading in the quiet, early morning hours, decorating their sweet little home, writing has been part of her soul since she learned how to write letters, and her love of coffee runs deeper than her coffee pot.  You can find more from Kayla on her blog or Instagram.