Holiday Dreams

Starbucks’ specialty flavored frappuccinos are back at Wal-Mart for the holidays!  I was overjoyed to see Mint Mocha on the shelves this week as I shopped for groceries.  It was tempting to crack open one of those bottles right there in the aisle and start chugging.

Now that November has hit, holiday items are showing up in all the stores, and in the Colvin household too.  Carina jubilantly streamed lights all over our front porch last week, using the excuse that we should “do it early, while it’s still warm outside.”  The pumpkins are still on display, and Christmas ornaments are already sneaking their way into our rooms.  I baked my first batch of Christmas gift biscotti on Thursday (that’s right, family, you better be nice to me, ‘cause I got the goodies!).   Carina is dreaming about the possibilities of receiving a horse for Christmas (not likely).

This is the first holiday season in a long time where I am looking forward to our activities and obligations.  Instead of feeling anxiety about crowds and strangers, or being nervous in family gatherings, I am anticipating pleasure with family and friends.  Last year, I spent my holidays in a drug-induced haze, needing anxiety medication to even consider going to events.  Now, I am off the anxiety medication, and only take it during extremely stressful times.

It is thrilling to have anticipatory excitement!  I’m sure that there will be stressful times and negative experiences, but I now feel more empowered to deal with those events when they come up.  I have a recipe to follow now, my “recipe for mental health”:

1.        Exercise

2.       Quality sleep

3.       Time in prayer and worship

4.       Medication

5.       Proper nutrition and hydration

It is amazing to see how these five ingredients can improve my ability to think coherently.  Or how quickly I can derail without careful attention to them.  These are things that are simple, easy to implement, and good for anyone.

But during the busy holiday season, it is common to forget to exercise, sleep less, cut my devotional time short, and eat on the run.   

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.  1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NLT)

Now, more than ever, I am being shown the truth to this verse.  The Holy Spirit lives in me, and He deserves to have a fairly nice place to reside.  Treating my body kindly, not denying or indulging, is a way to show my love to God.  By caring for myself, I am honoring God.  It is not selfish to take time to ensure adequate sleep and exercise occur.  I may feel like I am not being productive by spending an hour in worship when obligations are knocking on the door, but—as I’ve said before—what I feel and what is reality are often quite different things.

Father, focus my thoughts on You during this holiday season.  Give me Your strength to sleep, eat, move, and meditate on what is healthy and holy.  Let’s dream big about what we can do together!