At my home, this was the first year we were able to decorate for Christmas without having to deal with the tangled mess of lights from the previous year and all the bickering that comes with it. We bought our first pre-lit tree and quite honestly, it was a real marriage saver. In the past, tangled Christmas lights have always been a problem for us on “decorating day”.

I look forward to Christmas all year. So in order to get ready for the decorations to go up, I turn on Christmas carols, make hot cocoa and help to create the Christmas “mood” of the holidays.

Then the decorating of the tree would begin….and suddenly things weren’t so cheery. The lights were always a tangled mess and I would enlist my husband to be the official “light wrangler”.  As he worked on the lights, I would watch him get more and more frustrated with the never ending knots and tangles… only to find out that the strand of lights he just spent an hour untangling didn’t even work. The Christmas “mood” was gone and replaced with frustration, anger and bickering.

I’d like to say that this annual event is something I’ve only experienced in my own marriage; however that’s not the case. Growing up, every “decorating day” was spent this very same way. It always started out filled with the holiday spirit, only to end with anger and bickering because of the Christmas light fiasco.

I called my mom the day I put up our new tree and reminded her of the “decorating days” when I was at home, we laughed, and she told me that when she bought her pre-lit tree last year, it was the best thing SHE had ever done for her marriage! I’m sure many of you can relate.

I began thinking after the tree went up peacefully this year, about how the tangled lights of the holidays are similar to the gnarled emotions we carry in our hearts on a daily basis, only to spill out in a rather ugly and frustrating fashion at moments of stress.

Too often I find myself stressing or obsessing about things that are really not worth the emotional energy it takes out of me.  I need to be reminded that there is an easier way to operate.  Kind of like that pre-lit tree…it’s a much easier road, and far less frustrating.  It does costs a little more, but it’s well worth it.  Philippians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

To me, this means that before I would allow worry and fear to take root inside of me, I would pray, ask God for His wisdom and intervention, and thank Him for who He is and for how much He cares about me.  The result would be internal peace.  This is a lesson I need to be reminded of on a regular basis.

As you look at the lights on your tree this year, think about how you are handling the stresses of life.  Are you taking on more than you’re meant to bear?  If so, remember there’s an easier way… and I have a feeling your family will benefit as much as you do.

Have a blessed Christmas, and may the Peace of God be with you.