Pregnancy Help During the Holidays

The holiday season is a time we often look forward to, yet, if we’re honest with ourselves, it can also feel overwhelming. For those of us serving in the pregnancy help movement, we’re already giving so much of ourselves every day. 

Then, when the holidays arrive, there’s the added pressure of preparing for family gatherings, organizing events for staff, volunteers, and maybe even clients. It’s a joyful time, but it can also leave us feeling stretched thin, as if there’s not enough of us to go around.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, it’s important to take a step back and remember that the heart of this season is about more than just busy schedules. 

Here are a couple steps we can take to help us have hearts centered on the Lord throughout this season.

1. Thankfulness! 

Thanksgiving is called just that for a reason. It’s a time of year set aside to make sure we are thankful for all God has provided for us and all He has done for us. As we spend time with the Lord each day, let’s take a few extra moments to write down what we are thankful for or write a note to someone on your team or a client letting them know how thankful you are for them. When we take the extra step to be intentionally thankful, it tends to help put our moments and days into perspective and keep our hearts and minds more centered on Christ. 

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106: 1 (NIV)

2. Prepare our hearts to welcome Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior.

I have always loved that Thanksgiving comes a few weeks before Christmas. We practice thankfulness in November and as the month comes to a close, we move toward Advent and our hearts are in the perfect place to prepare for Christmas. If we have in our heads that Christmas is one day or a season of busyness, it will be harder to prepare ourselves to welcome the newborn King. Advent means arrival! We prepare for the arrival of guests. We prepare for the arrival of a client coming through the door of our center. How much more should we be preparing for the arrival of our King and Savior!

How do we prepare? 

• Share the story of Christmas and Jesus coming as a tiny baby who becomes our Savior with the women you meet with at your center. Mary did not expect to be a mother either, especially as a virgin. But God saw her through each moment and Jesus became the greatest gift of all time to all mankind. What a story to be able to share with women facing an unplanned pregnancy! 
• Buy an Advent devotional to do with your family or your team at your center. 
• Read the accounts in the Gospels of Jesus approaching birth and His arrival throughout December as part of your daily devotional time.
• Use a daily Advent calendar in your office or home.
• Listen to Christmas music! 

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 (NIV) 

I know these steps will not remove items from your to-do list throughout the rest of November and December. But what they will provide is a heart and mindset that will help you face each day more centered on your Lord as you remember that Jesus is the reason He has called you to serve your staff and the women and families in your community. 

Here at Extend, we pray you have a blessed and peace-filled holiday season!