Finding Peace When Life Feels Full: A Gentle Start to December

December can be a month of beauty, connection, and tradition.

It can also be a month of quiet exhaustion, emotional heaviness, and a schedule that fills faster than we expect.

If you are entering this season with a tired mind or a full heart, you are not alone. Many of us carry more than people realize, and the weight of the year often shows up when December begins.

This is why we need a different kind of beginning. Not a push, not a demand, and not another resolution. We need compassion, presence, breath, and grounding.

Most of all, we need the reminder that God meets us right where we are.

Finding Peace with God When the Holidays Feel Overwhelming

One of the most comforting truths throughout Scripture is that God meets people in the places they actually are, not the places they think they should be.

Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Stillness is not a performance. Stillness is not perfection. Stillness is simply the small moment when we pause long enough to remember that we do not carry life alone. It is a moment of surrender, a moment of breath, and a moment of letting God be God.

If December has already begun to stir up anxiety or heaviness, this verse can become an anchor. Not because it asks you to stop everything, but because it invites you to create a quiet space inside yourself, however small, where God’s peace can settle in.

Why the Holidays Feel Heavy

December carries several layers at once:

• The emotional weight of an entire year

• The pressure of expectations, obligations, and relationships

• Invisible mental load and decision-making

• Work deadlines that intensify before holidays

• Grief, loneliness, or emotional memories that surface

• A longing for connection and peace

  
  

You might feel responsible for making things special for everyone else. You might be moving through difficult family dynamics. You might be stretched at work. You might simply feel tired from eleven months of showing up for your life in ways no one sees.

None of these are signs of weakness. They are signs of humanity.

And they are invitations to pause and reconnect with a gentler way of moving through this month.

Three Ways to Find Calm This Week and Throughout the Holidays

These practices are simple, compassionate, and grounded in both nervous system wisdom and spiritual truth.

1. A One-Minute Breath Prayer

Inhale slowly and think: “Be still.”

Exhale and think: “You are God.”

Repeat three times. This recenters both your body and your mind.

2. The Hand-to-Heart Pause

Place your hand over your heart.

Let your shoulders soften. Say quietly: "I am allowed to slow down and choose stillness for a moment."

This simple gesture tells your nervous system that you are safe.

3. A Two-Sentence Reset

Whenever your mind starts to spiral, say: “I can return to calm. God is here with me.”

This interrupts overwhelm and opens space for clarity.

None of these practices require time, privacy, or perfection. They simply create room for peace to find you.

When You Need a Little More Support

If you want a simple way to find calm during the holidays, I created The Three-Minute Stress Reset to help guide you when the day feels overwhelming or when your mind begins to race, I created a simple resource to support you.

The Three-Minute Stress Reset is a gentle practice that helps you slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with both your calm and God’s presence. It is quick. It is grounding. It is something you can use at your desk, in your car, or before you walk into a meeting.

It is not another task on your list. It is a compassionate moment for you.

If you feel like you could use that kind of support this week, you can download it here.

→ Download the Three-Minute Stress Reset

Let this be your small moment of stillness in a season that often asks for more than we have to give.

A Gentle Beginning

You do not need to begin December with pressure, hustle, or the expectation that you must do it all. You are allowed to begin softly.

You are allowed to breathe.

You are allowed to slow down. You are allowed to seek God’s peace, even when life is full.

May this bring you small moments of calm, quiet reminders that you are held, and the encouragement you need to move through this season with a little more grace for yourself.