The Gift We Forget to Open
What It Means and Why We Need It
There’s something different about this holiday season. Maybe you feel it too. There seems to be a quiet pull to step back, take a deep breath, and approach Christmas and the new year with a rested, thankful heart.
For the first time in a long time, I’m choosing to see this season in a new way. I don’t want to rush through it, check off a list, or measure my worth by what I accomplish. Instead, I’m choosing to see it as an invitation to rest in God’s presence, to let go of what I’ve been carrying, and to celebrate the gift of Jesus with a peaceful heart.
Rest isn’t passive. Rest is worship. It’s faith in motion.
As we move toward Christmas and the close of 2025, rest becomes a way to honor all that God has brought us through and all He is preparing for the year ahead. For you, this might mean a new vision, new work, healing in a relationship, a new marriage, or even a new beginning you didn’t expect. Whatever comes next, it’s in God’s hands.
I’m sitting in my living room as I write this, watching the star on top of our tree glow softly in the corner. That’s what I plan to do in these last days of the year: sit, breathe, and look up.
Like the wise men who looked up and followed the star, I’m lifting my eyes and letting God still my heart. I’ll bake Christmas cookies from my grandmother’s recipes, enjoy the quiet, and let the simple things speak to me.
But I’ll be honest. This season also finds me in a quieter, emptier home. It’s the kind of quiet that feels both beautiful and a little unsettling. If you’re facing empty spaces too, remember that emptiness doesn’t always mean loss. Sometimes it means fulfillment, completion, or a chapter that was well-written and well-loved.
I sometimes imagine the moment when God sent Jesus, His only Son, into the world. It was a holy letting go, a divine kind of emptying. A Father trusting that separation had a purpose. Maybe that’s what empty nesting points to: a sacred trust that the work continues, even when it’s no longer in our hands.
It’s just a thought, but it brings peace to my heart.
What I’m Into This Week
📖 READING: Prepare Him Room (Advent Devotional) by Susie Larson
🎧 PODCAST: REPEAT Our 10 Favorite Things This Christmas- Fearless Forward
We compiled a list of our favorite things just in time for Christmas. Episode includes LOTS of discounts! 😉👇🏻🧴FIND: Lymphatic Cream and EVERYTHING from Rowe Casa Organics. Code: FEARLESS20 for 20% off
🤩 WATCHING: Call the Midwife - Netflix I’m sorry not sorry for repeating this ☺️
I keep coming back to this: what if our Christmas tree became a symbol of gratitude?
Every light - a reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Every ornament - a moment, a memory, a miracle from this year.
Every glance - a quiet “thank You, Lord.”
Thankfulness shifts the atmosphere. It doesn’t remove the hard parts of the season, but it reframes them. It reminds us that God has been good, that He is good, and that He will continue to be good.
And gratitude doesn’t end with us.
As we enter a new year, the question becomes:
How can I carry thankfulness into the world?
How can I be a light for someone else?
How can I reflect the hope I’ve received?
Because thankfulness isn’t meant to stay in our living rooms. It’s meant to spill out into the places where people feel unseen, overwhelmed, or unsure of what comes next.
Thankfulness isn’t meant to stay in our living rooms. It’s meant to spill out into the world.
A Question for You
As you head into the heart of this holiday season:
What would it look like for you to slow down and embrace rest and thankfulness?
Maybe it’s a quiet morning with coffee by the tree.
Maybe it’s a walk under winter skies.
Maybe it’s writing down everything God has carried you through this year.
Maybe it’s letting the empty spaces become places of deep gratitude instead of grief.
Whatever it is, I pray you feel the gentle permission to look up, breathe deep, and rest in the goodness of God.
That is my prayer for you as we finish out the year.
Because He is here.
He is near.
And He is working throughout your new year.
See you in 2026.
Michelle
Thanks for sharing. This time of the year is hard for me. Great suggestions to help focus on God. Merry Christmas Michelle
Not only at this time of year, but especially at this time of year, I need to make room for solitude. We have in our city an area called The Nature Trail, where deer, fox, squirrels, and a variety of birds call home. It is preserved to be as natural a habitat for them as possible. I walk there often, and often alone. I stop to watch a bird flit from branch to branch, or observe the peacefulness of deer grazing. Even in December, the foliage holds its own kind of beauty. It seems to say, "It's time to rest and preserve resources."
I can be more when I make time to do less, like watch a winter bird enjoying the moment.