Why Slowing Down in December Is Actually a Spiritual Discipline

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

— Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

That first Saturday in December, Maria had a list. It lived on her fridge: Buy gifts (17 people). Bake cookies. Address cards. Deck the halls. Attend parties. Host dinner. She moved through her apartment like a storm, wrapping while the cookies baked, listening to a podcast about “the true meaning of Christmas” while she scrolled for deals online.

By 3 PM, she was on the couch, surrounded by tissue paper and a headache. The room was quiet. She’d been moving all day, but she felt emptier than when she started. The “magic” of the season felt like another thing she hadn’t finished.

She looked across the room at the nativity scene on her bookshelf. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds—they weren’t rushing. They were gathered. They were watching. The first Christmas wasn’t something to produce. It was something to receive. And you can’t receive anything with hands that are too full and a heart that’s going a mile a minute.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Does your December feel like a performance? Like you’re the one in charge of making sure everyone has a good time? What if slowing down this month doesn't mean you're lazy. What if a peaceful Christmas means saying “no” to one more thing so you can say “yes” to sitting still for ten minutes? The real work isn’t the hustle. It’s the pause. It’s choosing to be still when the whole world says go, so you can actually hear what hope sounds like.

PRAYER:

God, in a month that shouts more, help me choose less. In all the noise, teach me how to be quiet. Slow my heart. Clear my schedule. Make room not just for what’s happening, but for You. Let my stillness be how I worship this year. Amen.