The JANE FRANCES de CHANTAL | Sugar Berry + Fig | Seasonal Collection

"Leave the doing to Him." -Jane Frances de Chantal

The holidays bring with them a certain spirit of joy and excitement. We all know, love, and look forward to that spirit all year round. Of course, that excitement can also bring some extra tasks along with it too--decking halls, stretching budgets, planning meals, shopping and wrapping and preparing that can at times be all-consuming. There is a lot for all of us to do this time of year, that’s for sure!

Checking items off of our to-do lists is not a bad thing to do. It can be a way to share Jesus’s love with those around us. But let’s not forget that if we get too caught up in all the doing, we can lose the real meaning of Christmas. The real reason we celebrate is that this is the day God gave us His only Son--the most perfect gift, our Savior Jesus Christ. And in doing that, He gave us all we will ever really need. If we forget to stop checking things off our list this time of year, we can get caught in the trap that this day is somehow more about us and what we do rather than what He did.

A very wise nun once told me that I need to remember I am a human BEING, not a human DOING. There will always be tasks to take care of and lists to check off and goals to accomplish and work to be done. But I need to go about my Martha jobs with the heart of Mary. And I need to make the time to just be. Be God’s creation, be His beloved, just be His. Then, when I go about doing the things that must be done, I can do them with a heart that is content and consumed with Jesus and not myself. In doing so, I will allow Him to be the one doing the things and loving others through me. And when something (or all of life, really) doesn’t go just exactly like I plan it, I can accept it in confidence, knowing that He is the one with the good plan and He is taking care of all the things, big and small.

Scent Profile:
fig, brown sugar, sea salt, cranberry, amber, musk