Priorities, Interruptions, and the Joy of the Holidays

‘Tis the season… well almost anyway. And already we are feeling the pinch in our pocketbooks, calendars, and possibly our state of mental well-being. Time to define our priorities and ban those pesky interruptions. Only then will we reap the full joy of the holidays.

Or will we?

Perhaps God has a different idea for our priorities and the interruptions that are sure to come.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard, you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.  Leviticus 19:9-10

Few people make their living by farming these days, but that doesn’t mean we are without fields to tend and harvests to glean. For certain, we have fields of finances, families, and friendships. And we also have the field of time—and that’s the one I want us to consider now.

The ads for new day planners and calendars that will help us maximize our productivity by mapping out the details of our days are out in full force. If we want to schedule our lives to the second, there is no end to the beautifully illustrated and intricately designed devices that can help us do that. If we are determined to “wholly reap the corners” of our field call time, there is nothing to stop us. Nothing except for these instructions from God found in Leviticus.

Let’s start with a look at our holiday plans.

Christmas parties, decorating, shopping, gift wrapping, baking, family gatherings—if we have an unused nook or cranny of time, there is always something with which we can fill it.

And as soon as we do here come the interruptions.

A friend calls because she is feeling lonely or depressed. Do we have time for an unhurried, take all the time we need visit?

A neighbor gets sick. Do we have time to take them a meal, do their shopping, or help clean their house?

And can we do it with a sense of joy? That is the true test of our heart.

If we’re going to care for the poor and the stranger, the widow and the orphan, the certain man who fell among thieves who robbed him and left him half dead (see Luke 10:3-36), then we’ve got to leave something worth harvesting in the corners of our fields—our calendars.

The worst-case scenario, we end up with some unfilled free time. It doesn’t mean we have nothing to do, that we are being wasteful… unless we use it to binge watch Netflix or scroll through funny cat videos.

It gives us the chance be the interruption we would have previously wished to avoid. Take a meal to a sick friend or a new set of parents. Offer to babysit for the family who is foster parenting. Make a hot cup of tea and call an old friend just to check on them. Grocery shop for someone who can’t get out, then take time to visit as you deliver. Walk around town handing out candy canes and prayers.

The holidays are a wonderful time of year, but they are also a hard time for many people.

Boaz knows something about leaving a little something in his fields. In the Book of Ruth, he left some grain in his fields to be gleaned by the poor. One of those happened to be a widow named Ruth, who became his wife (see Ruth 2).

And together they became the ancestors of King David, and ultimately the line through which our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born.

All because there was a field “not wholly” reaped.

This year I’m prioritizing the interruptions. I’m leaving space in the margins and holes to the agenda. I’m not reaping the corners of my calendar. Instead, let me share the fruit of my time with others and my harvest may be one of joy.

I want to see them not as unwanted interruptions, but as divine opportunities to be the hands and feet of Christ—to be a vessel through which God may pour out His blessings on another.

Yes, I want to use my time wisely, but what could be wiser than to make myself available to be used by God?

Share your thoughts and join the conversation:

What are the things or activities that are the hardest to say no to or let go of so that you find margin in your holidays?

What do you see as the benefit to keeping “the corners of your calendar” from being time fully reaped?

What priorities can you set so that you can embrace the interruptions?

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7 Comments

    The Conversation

  1. ROSEANNE ESPINO says:

    With my husband and I having 2 sets of parents in heaven and being “empty nesters” the joy of the upcoming seasons come with less joy and excitement than in the past. Nothing “feels” the same. This is because I go into the season remembering the feelings and emotions I felt when my mother hosted the best Christmas. I watched her plan menus, buy presents and she could give pinterest a run for their money with her beautiful handmade bows and decorations. This year I am in my own season and going about life with a sense of more of God and less of me. I want to seek out ways to serve others and get out of my own head. Great post. I always love hearing the Boaz story.
    Love ya friend,
    Roseanne

    • laltebaumer says:

      Thank you so much for sharing! So well said. I haven’t lost my parents yet, but the empty nest has brought a significant difference into our holidays, specially with the kids married and with kids of their own. I am an old fashioned nostalgic at heart so I can let me thoughts take my moods in an unhealthful direction if I’m not careful. But when I remind myself what we are really celebrating… game changer! I just want everything to be about worshipping our Lord and Savior, and none of that other stuff is needed to do that. I pray you feeling to joy and abundance of God’s presence in the coming weeks. Peace, Love, and Joy to you Sweet Friend!

  2. Andrew Budek-Schmeisser says:

    Yeah, it truly is the season,
    Christmas-time is on its way,
    and I have a real good reason
    to wonder if I’ll see the day,
    but it don’t matter to me now
    if I die to soon for this;
    I hope Barb will not have a cow,
    but it’s real hard now to resist
    Heaven’s ‘Lights Of Vegas” charms
    against another cancer’d morning;
    with Elvis, there will be no harms,
    and the demons now a-borning
    will curse their ‘dang-I-lost-prey-fates’
    as they growl outside Graceland’s gates.

  3. Donna Nabors says:

    I love the comparison of the corners of our field to our calendars. I love to plan and organize and fill every moment with the expected, but that is not necessarily what God wants. I need God margin for what He wants to bring my way.

    • laltebaumer says:

      You can even still look at it as planning (because you are the Spreadsheet Queen)… you’re just planning for some white space on the calendar. God can find you no matter what, but this will make it easier for him to have you fully present when he has something for you LOL.