Great Plains Daily Devotional for 12/26/2020

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

This year for Christmas I am lucky enough to have Christmas eve and the day after Christmas off of work. Ever since the semester has ended I have been keeping myself very busy and stressed between my retail job and the new position I have at school. While also stressing about next semester plans, money, getting gifts for people, and so on. With all of this it is safe to say that I have had much of a break during this year’s Winter break. Because of this and also the fact that I get to spend a decent amount of time at home with my family for Christmas this year, I have decided to leave my work behind for a little while. And by leave behind I mean literally leave it behind.

While I am away from Emporia and back in my hometown with my family for a few days I will be leaving everything I have that could possibly make me want to work while I’m at home. This means leaving my laptop behind so that I cannot create, read, or respond to any emails, and so that I can’t allow myself to do any research or digital organization. I will also be leaving my iPad in Emporia so that I can also not reach my emails, and so that I cannot let myself do any work for the school on my Procreate app either. In addition to leaving these devices behind I will also be shutting off my email notifications on my phone (since I am not ready to be without it for that long). I will also probably have almost all of my notifications off.

I am doing this, not only to force myself to take a break, but to also make sure I am giving my family and friends the attention they deserve this holiday season. I am always making myself so busy and I never let myself have a break, I feel like I have to always be working on or towards something. This way of thinking often leads me to neglect the ones I love. Leaving my gadgets behind and turning my notifications off will hopefully let me spend some much needed quality time with my loved ones.

The only items I will be bringing home with me this Christmas are:

1. Clothing - mostly Christmas sweaters
2. Phone - because I’m 20 and can’t stand the thought of doing a two hour drive without Spotify
3. The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer - something light and easy to read
4. Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today by Adam Hamilton - getting a head start on the UMCM winter reading
5. Laundry - that I’ll beg my lovely mother to do for me
6. Presents for my family - wrapped with more love than skill

I hope my writing today can inspire someone else who feels like me to put the work down and just relax. I know that it is easier said than done, but come on! It’s Christmas! Your loved ones need more than work does.

I also hope that everyone has a safe holiday season, wear your mask, keep your distance. Things have been very crazy this year but 2020 is almost over and we can all hope for a better 2021. Remember to turn off notifications and tune into the world around you.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Luke 1:47-55
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38