How to Survive December’s Activity During May

by | Oct 27, 2023 | Growing in Grace, Once a Year Posts

The Hurry of Maycember is Upon Us

Is anybody feeling over-scheduled, overwhelmed, and undone? How do we survive December’s activity during May? Because this grace-seeking gal is showing signs of wear and it’s only the beginning of May!

Maycember is upon us.

I first heard this word a few years ago for the phenomenon every parent with school-aged children wants to survive with all participants intact. And worse, it impacts far beyond those of us raising young humans.

  • state testing
  • the deluge of concerts
  • class picnics
  • half-birthday parties (for all those summer birthdays not to be forgotten.)
  • yearbook signings (for the yearbook you forgot to order in October)
  • creative gifts for teachers.

And don’t forget last-minute book reports and all the catch-up lessons teachers couldn’t get to earlier in the quarter.

AND! Did I mention it’s finally nice outside and brain function is already sprinting toward summer mode?

Beyond the classroom are confirmations, dance recitals, graduations, and weddings—all mixed in with the start of summer sports and actual summer birthdays! Not to mention “life” with sick loved ones, friends in crisis, and the struggle to care for them all.

And what of all those lovely annuals? You know, the ones you bought two weeks ago in hopes the weather gal was mistaken about “several more freezes.” Yeah, those bowing blooms and ever-so-slightly-curled leaves demand to be watered, already!

Arghhhh…that flurry to the ‘finish’ feels as frenzied as those December days leading up to the ‘gentle Jesus asleep on the hay.’

Indeed, Maycember is upon us.

So how do we survive December’s activity during May?

Here’s the fine print…I don’t have all this figured out. But I’ve muddled through many a Maycember and have discovered 3 secrets for arriving at a June slightly less likely to require serious resuscitation!

3 Grace-Filled Secrets to Survive December’s Activity During May 

Secret #1: Tame the Pace. Grace grows in the slow.

Every time I write this, I can almost hear God chuckling fondly.

As if to say, ‘Yep, that’s grace-gold my beloved daughter. Now, listen. Lean in. My grace is always sufficient and it comes to life in the quiet corner of your heart when you slow to receive it.’

Here’s something I’ve been trying sporadically since January (Inspired by James Bryan Smith’s The Good and Beautiful You: Discovering the Person Jesus Created You to Be. Smith calls this “Holy Leisure” from the ancient practice of “investing time” by resting in God).

  • Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

  • Set a 5-minute timer to sit quietly and literally do nothing. Yep, not kidding. This isn’t a time for organizing your to-do list, journaling, or accomplishing anything at all. Breathe stillness in and breathe God’s faithfulness out.

    • Breathe in: Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10, RSV

    • Breathe out: The One who has called you is faithful and He will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24, NIV.

  • 5 full minutes. Every day. Yep, still not kidding. (I’ve also renewed my commitment to begin again today.)

  • This is grace gold here, friends.

Here’s the secret: Slowing like this helps us pace ourselves. Distance runners must discipline themselves not to sprint ahead of their own pace. For sure, we have assignments to complete and celebrations to welcome. But like those marathon masters, we must choose for ourselves a pace that respects our soul’s need for grace. Grace invites you just to ‘be.’

Secret #2: Trim the Calendar. Grace shows up when we turn it over and invite God to show off.

Let’s face it, whether young or ‘more experienced’ in life, our calendars can get rather demanding! No matter how creatively color-coded, our datebooks either enhance the beauty of our lives or rob us of it. The distinction between grace’s beauty and robbery: Who is really in charge of your days?

Like January, June is that month we collapse into, with sweaty exhaustion—too wiped out to enjoy its beginnings. And then, before you know it, it’s the end of July and the start of another school year.

Confession: my husband and kids would tell you that much of the time, I’m in charge of our calendar. I’m slowly discovering, though, that God can be trusted to distinguish the MUSTs from the MAYBEs of each month. I simply have to ask Him and then lean in and trust what I hear.

Here is a question and action I’m welcoming this Maycember. Maybe this will assist you towards grace too:

  • What does God want you and those around you to remember/treasure as you make your way toward May’s finish line?

  • Pick one or two things you want to do well over the next four weeks.

  • Let the rest fall. Yep, let the rest fall.

This is a good place for one of my favorite exhortations to let God show off.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6: 25-34, NLT

Here’s the secret: Even the most discerning among us struggle to sort through the MUSTs from the MAYBEs. Inviting God to fill in the squares on our calendar releases life, diminishing our worry about filling life. When we intentionally invite God to lay out our days, we get the living abundantly part while God gets the God-You’re-So-Gracious-to-Me Glory part.

Secret #3: Tend to the soul. Grace grows in the margins.

Have you ever ‘fudged the margins’ to make an assignment look shorter than it actually is?

An unapologetic words person, I’m guilty as you might guess! I recall a professor scolding me for not giving him enough room for comment and critique. His teeny tiny scribble had the audacity to observe that my submission was obviously over the word limit. (Apparently, my 1/2” margins made my lack of editing obvious!) Alas, back to the drawing board I went.

Margins are where encouragement and evaluation take place. White space is necessary, not only for ease of reading but also for reflection and consideration of what comes next.

God doesn’t sit in the heavens, red pen in hand, poised to document every error and weakness in the story of our lives. He does, however, desire our growth and development.

There are words He needs to speak to us.
Redirects He needs to instruct us in.
Encouragements He knows we need to keep going.

Here are two questions I sit with most months, inviting my soul to slow down and dig for grace gold with God:

  • What has been life-draining this month?

  • What has been life-giving this month?

Here’s the secret: Looking back, when done with intention, changes the course of the way ahead. Grace grows as we cultivate it.

A Prayer Over December’s Activity During May

Four more weeks to go.
Hold on, my friend.

  • Tame the pace.

  • Trim the calendar.

  • Tend the soul.

Enter Maycember with acknowledgment for what it is.
Allow it to be a month of grace-filled secrets taming the hurry and releasing the grace.
And remember. June’s blossoms unfold in response to the grace we nurtured in May.

Prayer: Loving God, You give us the gift of Your grace. We confess there are days we move too quickly to receive your grace well or even at all. Please help us slow ourselves, submit ourselves, and sit with ourselves. Help us welcome Your Presence beside us and in all of it—that we might arrive in a June we can all celebrate. We belong to You. Amen.

Until we meet again, may God’s absurdly generous grace go before you, and be to you, in you, and through you.

P.S. For some additional humor during a harried season, check out Jen Hatmaker’s Worst End of School Year Mom Ever. Make sure you use the restroom first—you will laugh that hard!

P. P. S. Check out James Bryan Smith’s book The Good and Beautiful You: Dicovering the Person Jesus Created You To Be.