I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week. We were blessed with a great day with our family. The only thing that would have made it absolutely perfect, would have been to have our oldest daughter and her husband with us. But they were with his side of the family for this holiday…and then we will be thrilled to have them here for Christmas.
We gathered together for lunch at our son’s home. My daughter-in-law had contacted me several weeks prior and offered to host all of us for Thanksgiving. I have to be honest…my first thought was that I should be the one hosting. Isn’t that how it works? Shouldn’t Dan and I host since we are the parents? I guess that is what I have always expected from myself. I wanted my grandkids to be able to say, “Remember how we always went to grandma and grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving?” We have always loved to host family and friends here…in fact for quite a few years we hosted my side of the family at Thanksgiving…welcoming 30-40 people into our home. It was wonderful and we enjoyed those times.
But, the reality is that it’s a different time in my life when my health makes it difficult to be the one hosting and so I thanked my daughter-in-law for offering and told her we would love to go to their home. And do you know what? It was wonderful! My daughter and I made food to help with the meal and then she arrived before us and jumped right in and helped with all the final details. I could just thoroughly enjoy the day without all the responsibility and I loved it.
We bowed our heads as our son offered thanks for our meal, and I felt tears forming in my eyes. I listened to him thank God for our many blessings, that we could be together to share on this day, and for sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness as I shared this moment with our children who love the Lord and are raising their children to love Him too. I felt blessed to have these children who are willing to step up and open their home for us to gather in.
Before Thanksgiving, my daughter offered to host our family Christmas this year. At that moment, the same thoughts went through my mind about the expectations I have put on myself…so I didn’t give her an immediate answer. But the day after Thanksgiving, I told her that if she was still willing, we would love to take her up on her offer and I am so looking forward to it.
Sometimes it’s hard to let go of our own expectations, isn’t it? We put pressure on ourselves that is entirely unnecessary and as a result, we suffer consequences both physically and emotionally. Life has its seasons, and sometimes it requires us to loosen our grip on those plans which just aren’t possible…to enjoy the new plans which God blesses us with.
As we go through this wonderful Christmas season, let’s do our best to relax and not over-pressure ourselves to have perfection. Let’s loosen our grip on those traditions that maybe have to be re-designed to better fit our current capabilities. And then let’s always keep in mind that this season isn’t all about us and what feeds our psyche…it’s about a baby born in a manger for you and for me
