Quick question for you—are you Team Hallmark Movie or not? I find this is one of those things where you’re either definitely a Hallmark movie fan or you’re not. I, for one, am not a Hallmark movie fan.
Here’s the big reason why: every Hallmark movie ends in “happily ever after.” Every Hallmark movie has the same storyline. I think many of us could actually write Hallmark movies for a living. All you have to do is take a big-city girl or boy, connect them with a small-town girl or boy, have them fight the enemy together and fall in love—but include a big misunderstanding that could have easily been avoided with good communication—and eventually have the big-city person come back and marry the small-town person, resulting in a “happily ever after.”
It’s the “happily ever after” here on earth that gets me with these movies.
We have this idea that we should have an incredibly happy life on earth when that’s not what we’re promised as Christians. We are promised an abundant life in Christ if we pursue Him, but we are not promised an easy or even happy life. That’s a lie we’ve been sold. And a lot of times, I think as Christians, we believe that if we’re not happy or things aren’t going well, we must be doing something wrong.
I want to reframe that for you, because oftentimes I find that when I am pursuing Christ deeply and doing what God has called me to do, things often seem to go wrong. There’s a big struggle, and I don’t necessarily feel happy. But I look at that as darts from the enemy—because when I’m doing exactly what God is calling me to do, I am a threat to Satan.
What Satan wants us to believe is that you should just “follow your heart,” when in reality the Bible tells us:
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.”
—Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NKJV)
And therein lies the biggest issue I have with Hallmark movies. It’s all about following your heart and that good, ooey-gooey “feeling.” But life is not a Hallmark movie.
I think we must begin to truly see why we enjoy certain things and seasons, and have to look at why. Do we enjoy Christmas because of the decorations, the perfect holiday dinners and get-togethers, and wrapping and giving or getting presents? Or do we enjoy Christmas because we celebrate the birth of Jesus? Not that any of those things are inherently bad in themselves—but when we focus more on the feeling the season gives us, we miss the point of Christmas. We miss the deep, meaningful relationship that God wants to have with us through Jesus.
Only by allowing our hearts to be fully filled with God can we be completely satisfied. No holiday, no person, no event, no food, no social media, no likes, no clicks, and no amount of money will ever come close to filling your heart like Jesus will.
I come at this from an interesting perspective because when life crashed around me and I had no one to spend the holidays with—because I stood for truth in my family—I had to evaluate the true meaning of the holidays. I had to evaluate my relationship with God and begin to recognize what I was trying to fill my deep longings and hurts with that wasn’t God.
This wasn’t a one-and-done thing, and it didn’t happen in a single year—it’s been a years-long process and is still ongoing, just as working out our salvation in Christ is ongoing. Not that we have to work to be saved, but that we continue becoming more like Christ and living for Him once we’ve received the gift of salvation.
And so, as we come close to celebrating the birth of Jesus and the Christmas holiday, I’m going to challenge you to step back and evaluate your heart.
What does God want you to focus on this season?
What expectations does He want you to release and allow Him to fill?
Overall, how will you worship God and make him known this Christmas?
Are you dreading the holiday season? Grab my Holiday Guide to keep your focus on Jesus this season.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved. Susan M. Clabaugh with Encouragement in Daily Living LLC
Susan is an author and speaker who loves to share her journey of God’s redemption and encourage others as they look to God. As a former elementary teacher with a passion for teaching, Susan also owns her own tutoring and consulting business where she empowers students and parents in reading. She lives in Missouri with her adorable and grumpy Persian cat.
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