We had this big blue van when I was a kid that we used when we traveled from North Carolina to Louisville to visit my grandparents. I remember it had a couch/bed in the back. My sister and I would lay there while my mom “co-piloted” my dad during the 500-mile trek. I loved going “home for Christmas” as I am pretty passionate about both family and the holidays. Dad had this old Jimmy Dean Christmas cassette that he would play while driving the highways in holiday traffic. My favorite song on the album was not a classic, but it planted this vision in my head that I still think of today. Imagine with me…

If I owned a great big house, I'd have a Christmas room.
When things about me all went wrong, I'd find Christmas still in bloom.
There would be a great big tree with evergreen perfume,
Its branches bright with memories safe inside my Christmas room.

 In summertime when tempers flare, when peace seems a never thing,
I'd slip inside and I'd abide where herald angels sing.

 But since I'll have no great big house when Christmas goes away,
Then make my heart a Christmas heart that carols every day,
And let it be my Christmas where good will toward men shall stay.
(My Christmas Room, Jimmy Dean)

Rolling around on a couch bed while riding bumpy roads in the back of a big ‘ole conversion van as a kid may have been a foreshadowing of what adulthood actually looks like. I didn’t realize then how difficult it was for my mom and dad to make Christmas so special, how hard they worked to buy us presents, how they made sure we went home each year to see our grandparents, and how through good times and bad they were intentional to shine the light on Jesus. 

The line “in summer times when tempers flare, when peace seems a never thing” is a more accurate depiction of the climate of our culture today. We argue and stress over politics and inflation, we whine because we are not as “influential” as others appear to be, and we ignore our Creator—the author of peace and contentment—refusing to cultivate a stronger relationship with Him because we are too busy for His Word, and His house, and His people.

The reality is, however, that we are the managers of our own peace. James 4:8 instructs, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Christmas is over; a new year is beginning; and I still do not have a great big house with a Christmas room. But I’m learning that each day, in everything we do, we are building a room in our hearts for which we can retreat. And while it may not be a Christmas room, it most certainly can be a room of peace. It’s a room full of warm memories and cherished loved ones, dreams, goals, and future endeavors. And if we are wise, it will be a room where Jesus will feel welcome and will shine through us. The key is to let Him in. 

I’m reminded of the words from the Prophet Isaiah:

“Seek the Lord while He may be found;
    call upon Him while He is near;
let the wicked forsake His way,
    and the unrighteous man His thoughts;
let Him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on Him,
    and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6-7

The road ahead may seem bumpy and dark, but just as I counted on my dad to get us “home” safely, we can count on our Heavenly Father. As we enter a new year, let us carry with us the spirit of “goodwill toward men” and let us seek a stronger, more passionate experience with the Lord. May we invite others into our “room” where they too, can feel peace and love. And may our heart be a “Christmas heart that carols every day.”