I do not know about your Advent and Christmas seasons, but I detox'd mine!
Typically, you detox your diet. Get rid of the gross, bad-for-you-but-tastes-yummy-stuff. Get cleaned out. Remove built up toxins that inhibit your overall health and digestion.
Trade one set of foods for a better set. Healthier set with high protein or high fiber or lots of green (maybe even organic) vegetables and fruits. Fresh start. Renewed energy and vitality. Clean system! Yay! Go you!
However, this past Advent/Christmas detox was not a diet for my body, but a spiritual discipline for my soul. My soul just so happens to be a wife, mom, friend, writer, coach, spiritual director, lover of '80's music...and a preacher-pastor-overachiever-do-it-all-better-than-the-guys-kind of leader.
Before you think I am a church hater- let me be clear ministry is wonderful, exciting, challenging and invigorating! And also clergy are imperfect people in an impossible vocation. Ministry is hard, but good. There can be toxic things, situations or people... but there are leaps of faith, mountains of grace, and inspiring moments of transformation too!
So it was during the 6th of my voluntary leave of absence, otherwise known as the "great leap of faith because God kicked me in the skirt to step out of my comfort zone"; that the church season turned into Advent, then came Christmas. As I write this we are currently in my favorite season of Epiphany.
After all three seasons, now, I finally got it. I got detox'd. And have paused long enough to consider what my body and spirit just accomplished.
Instead of letting go of potato chips I did not worry with the worship committee about the proper amount and state of Christmas Eve candles. Was that a detox of details or control? There was no scurry around all month to visit shut ins and take them Holy Communion. Was that letting go for others to minister?
No extra Bible studies to add into my schedule. Could that be an invitation for others to lead or be lead in new ways? No end-of-the-year financial planning to wrap up succinctly. Might that be a challenge for accountability to come from another leader? No extra scurry to squeeze in one or four unexpected funerals in-between Cantatas and Children's Programs and mission donation drives. That was just a letting go of walking in grief with so many folks while self-aware of my own... sometimes what clergy carry is too much. Simplify. Set down. Surrender.
Interesting how much more enjoyable it was to address and mail Christmas cards when it was daylight outside and not late into the night. Heck- I was able to bake and decorate cookies with my daughter! What fun!
More amazingly, doing that activity did not feel like I swapped one set of guilt expectations. Mom guilt is real. Pastor guilt is real too. Stinks sometimes to have both. Guilt A- How will I help my congregation richly engage spiritually this season? Versus Guilt B- How will I make meaningful memories with my daughter before she goes off to college? No inner battle of guilt... just frosting, fun, and saturated fats! Can you say, "Yum"?
The most noticeable difference in my Advent/Christmas detox was how I felt on Christmas morning. I went to bed early. I woke up early. It was magical because the heavy fatigued stupor that has weighted me physically and emotionally on the last 25 Christmas mornings was gone.
Energy and zest! I was ready to play the games, and eat all the food, and call the relatives.
Huh... isn't that just what a detox is supposed to do? Boost us for - what's next?
