How To Have A Merry Christmas

Last week I blogged on holiday stress and gave you a three-step plan of attack to deal with it. This week, I came across a study released by Mayo Clinic and authored by Amit Sood, a Mayo stress-reduction expert.

Sometimes the world gets it right. This study was just raw science with a bit of pop psychology thrown in. It’s been referred to in news programs and other articles as a help for people to enjoy the holidays.

Sood claims that, from his research data, there are specific attitudes that alleviate stress and give you genuine joy during a time of year when holiday stress and seasonal depression tend to gang up.

In The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, Sood recommended these attitudes:

• Gratitude

• Compassion

• Acceptance

• Higher meaning

• Forgiveness

Before putting all that money into research, I wish he would have called me…ha! Not that I’m so smart, of course, but I could have told him that all of these attitudes are the things Christians are told in the Scriptures to reflect on.

When you express gratitude often and sincerely, it makes you happy. It actually changes the chemistry in your brain. So before going on Prozac, try saying thank you…a lot.

When you practice compassion, it forces you outside of yourself and away from your troubles.

Acceptance of what comes in life is just a matter of trusting in the sovereignty of God and letting go of the need to control.

Regarding higher meaning, I haven’t read the details of Sood’s study, but I’ll bet they found that those who “keep Christ in Christmas” enjoy the holiday more because it’s not just an empty and temporary celebration that is focused on shopping, Hallmark movies, and a whirlwind of activity. We know what we are celebrating!

And when it comes to forgiveness—that’s foundational to our Christian faith. We are Christian because we are forgiven, and we are required by our Savior to let go of offenses quickly and forgive the way He forgave us. When we do that, the choke-hold of resentment is released and life can take on the meaning God intended us to enjoy when He created us.

I’m not telling you to ignore Sood’s book. But there is a collection of books that have been teaching these principles for thousands of years.

Study the Bible! It’s full of practical material that works for life.

It can even help you have a merry Christmas.