Gearing Down to a Powerful Finish to 2022

With my daughter getting her first car recently, our family conversations have leaned a lot towards driving and cars. This got me thinking about how you need to gear down when you need extra power and how appropriate this seemed for finishing this year off well.

So here are 3 things to help you gear down to give you more power, so you can finish this year less weary and drained, and more in the Christmas mood.

1)   Be Mindful - In this season of ‘rush, hurry, perfect’, focus your mind on being fully aware and conscious of your thoughts and actions, and stop cruising on auto-pilot by just going through the motions.  Focus on being kind, finding joy in simple tasks and looking for the blessings in each day. Make every moment memorable, by choosing to be mindful of it. Be wise in accepting invitations.  If your body is crying out for rest, listen to it and pause instead of trying to make up for all the lost opportunities caused by Covid.

2)  Be Meaningful - Have a purpose for every action and choose to manage the time in each day, that brings meaning to your life and others.  Stop following the crowds by chasing after traditions that you cannot afford or have no meaning to you. Discover what Christmas and this season mean to you and then purposefully choose how you want to celebrate it. When buying gifts, don’t just choose the one on special, but find something with meaning that the recipient will appreciate.

3)  Be Merry - I used to associate being merry with being intoxicated, but according to the dictionary, merry also means to be jovial, jolly, showing high spirits, cheerful, joyous and carefree. We can choose not to be a grinch during this season and instead of being impatient and rushed, slow down to chat with the person next to you in the long queues.  Give someone a gap in the hectic traffic jams. When we wear a smile each day, instead of a frown, we welcome a friendly response that will turn our days from being mundane and manic to being merry moments.

In closing, this season is what you will make of it.  We all know the real reason for this season, so don’t let the shops and the world make you focus on anything but Jesus.  Jeremiah 31:25-26 promises us that those who feel tired and worn out, will find new life and energy, and when they sleep, they will wake up refreshed. 

Let’s stand on that promise and not grow weary in this season, but draw our strength from Jesus, as we keep our eyes and mind focused, with purpose, on Him.  Gear down to get that extra power and speed needed to finish 2022 well, so we can start 2023 feeling refreshed and ready for a new year, and not exhausted and depleted from overextending ourselves during this season.