Choosing to Breathe During the Holidaze

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

Sometimes I refer to the Christmas season as the “holidaze.” 
Yes, I’m familiar with the lyrics proclaiming this “the most wonderful time of the year.” But we also know it’s the busiest time of the year, too, with days overflowing with competing time demands. We make lists and check them twice so we remember to:Attend our kiddos’ school holiday performancesShop for our last-minute gifts Write our annual Christmas letter Mail packages to our out-of-town family and friends 
But as November wound down and December moved closer, I kept running into one word again and again.
Breathe.
Not busyness.
Breathe.
And then I heard the song “Breath of Heaven” by Amy Grant over and over in my mind. The whispered words reminded me that the genesis of Christmas is the breath of God.
What a good prompt for me – for all of us – to breathe as we transition from the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020.
As writers, we understand the importance of both strong beginnings and endings in our stories. The need for transitions – the chance to breathe – as we move from one scene to the next.
But too often during the real-life rush of the holidaze, we forget to breathe. Stress takes over and dominates our emotions.
Celebration, which should be fueled by joy, is affected by too many expectations and overwhelmed by frustration. 
We’re not breathing … we’re seething.
In the midst of all the coming and going, the baking and wrapping, the feasting and frivolity, the expected and unexpected moments of the season – may we be intentional about the moments where we breathe. 
May we stop and savor the laughter of children. The warmth of a hug. The sounds of voices singing “Silent Night” in a church aglow in candlelight. The joy of giving and receiving.
May we leave room for breathing … and may we make room for ourselves, for others, and for the Truth of the season in the coming days.

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Award-winning author Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, Beth's first women's fiction novel with Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, released May 2018. Moments We Forget, book two in the Thatcher Sisters Series, releases May 2019. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.