A New Focus

I'm not the runner I used to be.

Of course I'm slower. But it's much deeper than that. When I started running, I was in love with the thrill of competition. I loved entering local 5Ks. I even walked on the track team my junior year. I ran six days a week, regardless of the weather or my schedule. I did long runs on Saturdays and workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays. I was consistent in my mileage and logged every single run. I wanted to get faster and discover how well I could actually do if I trained properly. I loved it. For a while...

After a few years, though, it was like a switch went off: this running stuff, though I loved it, was adding stress to my life. (For those of you who still train seriously and race well, my hat goes off to you! You've got a gene that I don't have.) :) 

Loved the running, didn't love the stress. So I de-stressed my training. I tossed the racing flats. I lost my training log. I would run long only if I felt like it and if it wasn't raining. Didn't keep up with days, miles, or shoes. No more workouts. No more racing.

I allowed my running to become my solace. My time with God. My deep breath of nature and exercise and prayer. And I loved it.

Funny how a few years can change your outlook on running.

A few years can also change your outlook on Christmas. :)

Man, what kid doesn't love Christmas, right? Growing up, Christmas season started at 5:00 AM on Black Friday when my mom, my sister and I got all of our Christmas shopping done in one manic trip. (You know, back when stores were closed on Thanksgiving Day.) I loved the decorating, the eighteen parties and get-togethers, the food, and MOST of all, the presents. I had a list a mile long, from my favorite candy to some big-ticket items. I loved seeing family, I loved the lights, I loved the excitement of it all. And, because I was raised in a Christian family, I even loved the Christmas program at church and the potluck meal with my parents' Sunday school class. I couldn't get enough of it all. I loved it. For a while...

After leaving my parents home and becoming an adult, it was like a switch went off: this Christmas stuff, though I loved it, was adding stress to my life. (For those of you who still do all the Christmas stuff and do it well, my hat goes off to you. You've got a gene that I don't have.) :)

Loved Christmas, didn't love the stress. So I de-stressed my Christmas. I whittled down my shopping list by calling friends and family members and just simply asking them if we could not do gifts. (100% of the time they responded with Yes! What a wonderful idea.) For the gifts I did buy, I got very boring: I asked them what they wanted and got that very thing. (No worries about finding the perfect gift! They would tell me!) I made most of my purchases online. I cut back on decorating, opting for a simple tree (that I put up and let my kids decorate without any input from me) and one stocking per child. The food I make to take places is simple and easy. We don't go to every open house, every family get-together, and every Christmas program. We're a weird family because of what we don't do at Christmas.

The craziest thing, though, is my list: it's almost empty. (My list this year had these exact things on it: oven mitts, a rain coat, and a gift card to House Blend. I'm not kidding.) I truly would rather sit and visit with a friend for an hour than get anything in the world. And I am SO much more excited about seeing my kids and parents play together than receiving anything my mom could buy at a mall. (And she's a really good shopper!) If you could give me about 48 hours alone as a Christmas gift, I'd like time to write cards and tell people how much I love them and how much they mean to me. If I could ask for only one thing, it would be this: that I show people Jesus at Christmas by the love and peace He gives me. 

Funny how a few years can change your outlook on Christmas.

May you be blessed with a memorable Christmas and an ever-deepening relationship with our Lord.

Leslie Hudson