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REFRESH THE SOUL
The Joy of Learning How to Wait in a Season of Chaos
Holiday Seasons Don’t Have to Be Like Pressure Cookers
For many worldwide, this holiday season can be full of demands and guilt. I realized that rushing around and chaos didn’t necessarily harbor joy when I was a kid. It was quite the opposite in my family.
As kids, my brother and I were horrible with patience — waiting for some magical Santa to come and fill the tree with gifts. What the heck is that kind of business?! We would sneak around the house looking in all the “hiding places,” poking holes in the wrapping. When I eventually learned that there is no Santa, I began wondering about the hush-hush wrapped around a day that became an explosion of consumerism.
By the time I was 12, I knew that buying into the chaos of the holiday season was not for me. I played the game and opened my presents, but I began to wonder about ways of experiencing the sweetness of joy aside from gift-giving. Don’t get me wrong, I love a gift as much as the next person. I…
