Advent for the Overstimulated Mama: Faithfulness over Festivities

December can feel like a lot. Too much. Ask me how I know.

Overwhelm and overstimulation can happen at any time of year, but the holiday seasons seam to expedite this process.

This is counterproductive, of course. We all imagine the holidays as a peaceful time spent with family and friends where we linger in the kitchen or by the fireplace. This is what we want Christmas time to feel like, but how do we get there?

How do we not get overstimulated and overwhelmed? How do we keep good, healthy boundaries while making sweet memories with our kids?

Advent, even in the midst of mama overwhelm – it is possible.

Acknowledge the hard.

Noise. Lists. Expectations. Traditions. Guilt.

Can this year be different? I think so. Let’s take a step back and reframe our expectations and our calendars.

Advent is not a performance or a checklist. There isn’t just one way (or even 10) to “do” Advent right.

Advent is about making room for Christ, not adding more to our plates.

It’s a posture of heart, not a performance.

Unfortunately, in our culture, even good things can become burdens. And this often happens when we don’t notice.

We have the best intentions: we want to make sweet memories with our kids or establish new traditions, like an Advent reading or activity. We never plan for these things to feel like burdens, of course.

It will help us to remember that Jesus was born simply and quietly – not with pomp and circumstance.

It only takes a minute to look at all the traditional Christmas hymns and realize their lyrics might just be the reminder we need:

• Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him
• Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
• Gloria, in Excelsis Deo, which translates to Glory to God in the Highest
• Fall on Your Knees, oh hear the angels’ voices.
• Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel, and Ransom Captive Israel
• Joy to the world, the Lord is Come, Let Earth Receive Her King!
• Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room
• Silent Night, Holy Night, All is Calm, All is Bright.

I don’t know about your house, but I think most December nights feel anything but calm and holy….

What does it actually mean to “Prepare Him Room?”

What is Advent really about?

It’s definitely not about doing more and putting more on the calendar.

As an Evangelical Christian, we remember the Advent season as an Expectant Waiting. We look back to the Old Testament and see all the times where the Israelites were waiting.

We can read all the prophesies in Isaiah about the long-expected Savior.

On this side of the Cross, we are also waiting! We wait for his second coming.

Advent is the period of the Season before Christmas Day.

Traditionally, it is the 4 Sundays prior to Christmas. Each Sunday follows a theme to be remembered and meditated on until the following Sunday.

Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

There are a lot of daily Advent readings and ideas to incorporate into your family’s rhythms. Those are great if you want to enjoy one with your family!

Over the years, we have tried many things. Our favorite, especially when our kids were mostly little, is using the Jesus Storybook Bible. There are actually 24 “chapters” or readings in this beautiful children’s Bible leading up to the birth of Jesus! If you start on Dec 1, you can read 1 story every day. I

If you’re not familiar with this little Bible, it is fantastic. The artwork is beautiful and each story, from beginning to end, speaks the name of Jesus. It gives your kids a beautiful overview of Jesus the Savior, the Rescuer.

If it’s not part of your home library, I highly recommend it!

As wonderful as a daily reading is, it doesn’t make us more holy. Checking that box does nothing if we’re doing it from a place of stress or obligation and not with a heart of joy and worship.

Now, there is something to be said for obedience, of course. We should be spending time with our kids, time in the Word, even when times are hard.

God isn’t impressed by your checklist. And he isn’t disappointed in you when you don’t “get it all done.”

What he wants is our hearts. He wants us to teach our kids to give him their hearts, as well.

Faithfulness. Faithfulness during the holidays might seem like a free pass, because it’s Christmas, right?

What does real faithfulness look like in December? Does it mean we hustle all month long, keep the kids out late doing all the shopping and all the parties? Do we sacrifice our boundaries to “keep the peace” with extended family expectations?

Faithfulness over Festivities

The Lord values obedience and presence over production 365 days a year. Christmastime is no exception.

Faithfulness at home looks like:

• Feeding your people
• showing patience when you’re tired
• saying no to things that drain you
• the work of motherhood…. laundry, tidying… these things that feel never-ending are daily opportunities for faithfulness

Much of this quiet faithfulness is the sanctifying work that the Lord does through motherhood itself. Motherhood is a sanctifying process.

Simple ways to Practice Advent without Adding Weight

If you desire to “do” something with your family for Advent, you can absolutely do this without making it stressful.

Here are some ideas for a jumping off point:

• Read a short Scripture each day – before or after breakfast, with dinner, etc
• Light a single candle at dinner and lower the lights
• Say a prayer while doing the dishes
• Choose rest over an “extra” activity

Remember, this is an invitation to prepare Him room, to wait expectantly for our coming Savior.

Even when you’re in the right mindset and have re-prioritized your heart – you will still have moments or days where you miss it.

You will miss a day of reading. You might start strong and life happens and fizzle out.

You might have days when you are dazed and distracted.

But Grace.

Advent is something that you “fall behind” in.

In fact, Jesus came for the weary, not just the organized mom who has “it” all together (truth: she doesn’t actually exist).

If you’re feeling unseen this season, remember, God sees you, mama. Motherhood can often feel small and meaningless, but it is so much more.

Your faithfulness in unseen places blesses your family and glorifies the Creator.

Sometimes Making Room looks like Letting Go

Let go of comparison and expectations.

Choose faithfulness in your season.

Remember, Jesus is with us in the everyday. The ordinary, cluttered spaces of our lives. He meets us there. Willingly and lovingly. Not with disappointment.

Lord, this Christmas season, help me to let go and make room for you. Help me to lay down what I was never actually meant to carry. Help me to see that you want our hearts. My heart. The heart of my children.

Help me lead them well, especially during Christmas this year. Help me to show them that this season is all about you. Help us live with Expectant hope until you come again.