So, you looked so forward to the Thanksgiving break. You got to put off homework for a few extra days. You ate several good home cooked meals and slept more than you had in a couple of months. You caught up with some friends whom you had not seen in a while. For the most part it was great. However, there were also struggles. The parents expected you to still live under rules that you used to have. Some of your family got on your nerves. You got together with your friends but felt out of place, a little different. You felt like you just didn’t quite feel like you fit in. You have grown in your faith and seeking God this semester, and then you go home and seem to just forget about God and realized that you had not really even talked to him all weekend. Maybe you even did some stuff that you feel guilty about. Having experienced several college holiday breaks and talking with many others about their experiences, I have a few suggestions on how to make the upcoming Christmas break survivable, enjoyable, and even fruitful in your relationship with God.
- Keep reading and praying. There have been several of you who began consistently praying and reading Scripture for the first time this semester. Plan on setting aside some specific time to spend time with God each day. If you are not intentional about it, it probably won’t happen. Keep very fresh your connection with God. If you have not made prayer and Scripture a consistent part of your life, let this holiday season be a time to begin.
- Bring your faith into those family and church traditions. For some of you faith is becoming more real to you than it ever has. Your family and church you grew up in have certain rituals that you always do. See how you can bring your faith into these rituals and use them to worship God and increase your faith in Christ.
- Share with those close to you what has happened in you. Share with your family and close friends about how God has been touching your life, what you have been learning, and how your faith has grown. This will be great way to keep in touch with your faith and an opportunity to invite others to know God better.
- Keep in touch with someone here. Find someone who has been close to you as this growth has happened in you. Commit to praying for each other over the break. Set up a time when you can call each other to catch up, remind each other of what God has been doing in you, and encourage each other.
- Give it away. Find some way to reach out this season and give your faith away. Volunteer at a food bank, offer to share your faith experiences with your youth group back home, share your faith with a friend who doesn’t know the peace of Christ. In fact, my encouragement is for you to give a gift to Christ this Christmas that would bless him most. His heart is for the least, the last, and the lost. My challenge is for you to take $20 dollars that you would have spent on yourself or someone able to provide for themselves and use it to help someone with a need they have that they cannot provide for themselves. When we as Christians have a mindset to reach out in our faith, we will more likely keep it fresh in our lives.
The holidays can be a wonderful time with family and friends, and growing in your faith. There is also the danger of drifting away, stumbling, and being discouraged in your faith. I pray for you the former. Jesus desires no more for a birthday gift than to see you grow closer to him.
Happy Jesus Birthday,
Rusty
P.S. Here are the suggestions I gave at our final Overflow this semester to help encourage you to experience the celebration of the coming of the Messiah more fully:
- Read through one of the 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) during the break; try it in one sitting (maybe Mark).
- Read a book about the life of Jesus like God Came Near by Max Lucado.
- Attend and take in the miracle of a Christmas Pageant.
- Participate in a selfless act of service for someone who cannot provide for themselves.