Thursday Thoughts – Dec. 4, 2025
By the Rev. Dr. Dennis E. Morey, Pastor
Faith Presbyterian Church
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
To answer a frequent question: No, this has not been copied from the internet.
HOLIDAY PLANS: The Makings of Misery?
The e-mails are flying about and the phone calls are being made as families try to coordinate getting together for the upcoming holidays. If plans are being made which involve visiting family at some distance, we must consider if we get time off work. Which day is Christmas and the New Year happening this year? Will that make a shorter or longer school vacation?
Along with the challenge of dates and places, we also have the gift-giving plans to throw into the mix. Many get caught up in trying to buy just the right gift for every person on their list and invest not only hundreds of hours in the effort, but also thousands of dollars. Often when we are tired and have lots of shopping to do, we will pay just about any price to speed up the whole process and get back home to rest.
In order to get done all that needs doing, there will be meals missed, sleep lost, and the added stress of extra events and parties to attend. What should I wear? What do I bring? How long will I have to be there? Will the weather cooperate?
If you are still in the planning stages of your holiday preparations, begin by reviewing last year. What do you want to do differently? Did you spend too much money? Did you try to do too much and by neglecting your rest did not enjoy your celebrations?
This year you have the opportunity to start with a new plan. Misery can be avoided.
First, admit you can’t do everything. There will have to be limits and priorities. By doing fewer things and planning time for rest and good balanced meals, you are more likely to make it through the holiday celebrations in better health.
If you feel better, you will enjoy those few things you have chosen to include in your celebration.
Plan to make Christmas a celebration of God giving the best gift, His Son, Jesus to our world.
Plan to make the New Year’s celebration one of grateful anticipation of how you will yield your plans to God’s plans in the coming 12 months.
Don’t forget to make God the center of all your plans.
To say “the holidays are all about family” is to plan for failure. Someone won’t show up on time. Someone won’t get the message. Someone won’t be in a good enough mood. Someone will be sick and unable to be there. Someone won’t bring the right gift, or spend the right amount, and someone will be disappointed.
With our plans for celebration focused on our relationship to God, we will avoid the makings of misery. The holidays are intended to be a blessing. They can provide us the opportunity to find a deeper meaning in our relationships to one another as we celebrate God’s love.
We don’t have to dread these coming weeks. We don’t have to sit back and let them happen around us as we get caught up in what everyone else is doing and planning. Having a deliberate plan to include God-focused elements of the holidays and to exclude all those that cause us extra stress will send misery on its way and open the doors to celebrations that bless all who participate.
