The upcoming Christmas season approaches with familiar anticipation twinkling lights appearing in stores, holiday music filling the air, and that mixture of excitement and anxiety about all that needs to be done. But before the chaos of shopping lists and social obligations overwhelms you, there’s a more important question: Is your heart ready for Christmas?
Mattese Lecque, retired Major with the United States Army Reserves and woman of unwavering faith, understands that preparing for Christmas means more than checking off a to-do list. True Christmas preparation involves spiritual readiness, intentional gratitude, and creating space for what truly matters celebrating the greatest gift ever given.
As the upcoming Christmas draws near, Mattese’s perspective offers guidance for navigating this sacred season with faith as your foundation and joy as your destination.
The True Meaning of the Upcoming Christmas
Before planning parties or purchasing gifts, pause to remember what the upcoming Christmas actually celebrates. In the commercial frenzy, it’s easy to lose sight of the profound spiritual significance at the heart of this season.
Christmas commemorates the ultimate act of love God entering human existence as a vulnerable infant, bringing hope to a broken world. The first Christmas happened in a stable, not a palace. It was announced to shepherds, not kings. It exemplified everything opposite to our culture’s obsession with image, status, and material excess.
Mattese’s book “You Can’t Make Me Doubt Him” reveals the depth of her faith foundation. For her, the upcoming Christmas isn’t primarily about traditions and festivities but about celebrating unshakeable spiritual truth that hope came into the world, that love made the ultimate sacrifice, and that transformation remains possible for everyone.
When you ground the upcoming Christmas in its true meaning, everything else falls into proper perspective. Gift-giving becomes an expression of love rather than obligation. Gatherings become opportunities for genuine connection rather than performances.
Preparing Your Heart for the Upcoming Christmas
Mattese’s life demonstrates that meaningful experiences require intentional preparation. Approaching the upcoming Christmas with purposeful preparation creates space for genuine joy and spiritual renewal.
Practice Gratitude Now
Don’t wait until Christmas Day to practice gratitude. Start now. Mattese’s military service taught her profound appreciation for blessings others take for granted. When you’ve served in difficult conditions away from family, you understand the gift of simple pleasures warm shelter, shared meals, loved ones’ presence.
Begin a daily gratitude practice. Each morning, identify three specific blessings. This consistent practice shifts your perspective from what you lack to abundance already present in your life.
Examine Your Expectations
Many people approach Christmas carrying unrealistic expectations that guarantee disappointment. Perfect gatherings, flawless meals, delighted reactions to every gift these ideals rarely match reality.
Mattese teaches that it doesn’t matter if you were born with nothing or what resources you have you can create meaningful celebration. Release expectations of perfection. The upcoming Christmas will likely include imperfect moments. That’s not failure that’s real life.
Address Unresolved Conflicts
If possible, use the time before the upcoming Christmas to address relationship conflicts that might poison holiday gatherings. Reach out to estranged family members. Apologize for your part in conflicts. Forgive those who hurt you. Set healthy boundaries with toxic relationships.
You cannot control how others respond, but you can enter the upcoming Christmas with a clear conscience and open heart.
Plan Meaningful Service
As an active member of Saint Peter’s AME Church in North Charleston and through her community leadership roles, Mattese embodies the truth that serving others transforms holidays from self-focused stress to purpose-driven joy.
Before the upcoming Christmas arrives, identify specific ways to serve. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Donate to families in need. Visit lonely neighbors. Service during the upcoming Christmas connects you to the heart of the season sacrificial love that meets genuine needs.
Navigating Upcoming Christmas Challenges
When Grief Shadows Christmas
For those who have lost loved ones, the upcoming Christmas intensifies pain. Empty chairs at the table and traditions that can no longer be shared create emotional turmoil.
Mattese emphasizes the process of grief and how to not succumb to depression. She teaches about fueling your life with things that may leave a legacy on your behalf and the deceased one.
Honor your loss during the upcoming Christmas. Light a candle for your loved one. Share favorite memories. Continue meaningful traditions. Give yourself permission to feel both grief and gratitude simultaneously.
When Money Is Tight
Financial stress intensifies during Christmas when cultural pressure to spend lavishly collides with budget reality. The upcoming Christmas doesn’t require going into debt to prove love or create meaning.
Mattese’s message that you can overcome obstacles regardless of circumstances applies to Christmas finances. Meaningful celebration doesn’t depend on expensive gifts. Consider homemade presents, service gifts, or simplified exchanges that prioritize thought over cost.
When Family Dynamics Are Difficult
The upcoming Christmas often forces interaction with challenging family members. Establish boundaries before the upcoming Christmas arrives. Decide in advance how long you’ll stay at gatherings, which topics you won’t discuss, and what behavior you won’t tolerate.
You can honor family connections while protecting your wellbeing.
Creating Meaningful Christmas Traditions
Mattese’s memoir “The Make-Over: Re-imagining & Recreating Myself” demonstrates that transformation involves courageously examining what’s working and changing what isn’t. Apply this principle to your Christmas traditions.
Focus on Faith
Make spiritual practices central to your upcoming Christmas celebration. Attend Christmas Eve services. Read the nativity story as a family. Pray together. Sing hymns and carols that center on Christ.
These faith-centered traditions ground the upcoming Christmas in its true meaning and create spiritual memories that outlast material gifts.
Prioritize Connection
During the upcoming Christmas, protect time for genuine connection. Put away phones during meals. Have meaningful conversations. Play games together. Share stories.
These connection moments create the memories people treasure long after wrapped presents are forgotten. Your fully present attention is the greatest gift you can give.
Serve Together
Make service a family tradition during the upcoming Christmas. Volunteer together at a food bank. Adopt a family in need. Visit a nursing home.
Through her work as Chairperson of the Burke Foundation for Student Enrichment and Mentoring, Mattese demonstrates commitment to teaching the next generation. Service traditions teach children that Christmas is about giving, not just receiving.
The Legacy You’re Creating
As the upcoming Christmas approaches, consider the legacy you’re building through your holiday choices. Years from now, what do you want people to remember about Christmas with you?
Mattese’s focus on legacy provides powerful framework for Christmas decision-making. Will they remember your stress or your joy? Your perfectionism or your presence? Your material gifts or your generous spirit?
The upcoming Christmas offers opportunity to intentionally create legacy demonstrating faith under pressure, showing grace amid chaos, expressing gratitude consistently, and prioritizing what truly matters.
A Christmas Prayer
As someone whose faith sustains her through every challenge, Mattese would encourage approaching the upcoming Christmas with prayer:
Prepare my heart for the upcoming Christmas. Help me remember what truly matters. Give me wisdom to say no to what depletes and yes to what brings authentic joy. Strengthen me to extend grace to difficult people, generosity to those in need, and patience to myself when things don’t go perfectly. Let this Christmas reflect not my ability to perform but Your love working through me.
Conclusion: Your Heart-Ready Christmas
The upcoming Christmas by Mattese Lecque isn’t about perfect execution of holiday requirements. It’s about preparing your heart to celebrate the greatest gift ever given while extending love, grace, and generosity to everyone you encounter.
Overcoming Christmas stress is possible. Meaningful celebrations can emerge despite limitations. Honoring both joy and grief creates authentic holidays. Boundaries protect your peace and wellbeing. What truly matters faith, family, service, and legacy deserves your focus.
As the Christmas draws near, give yourself the gift of perspective. Remember the reason. Practice gratitude. Serve others. Release perfection. Embrace authenticity.
Mattese has demonstrated through military service, healthcare career, and community leadership that you have everything you need to navigate this season with grace. The upcoming Christmas isn’t about what you do but who you are and how you love.
Your heart-ready Christmas awaits. Prepare it well.
