The past few weeks have been nothing but a blur. Wasn’t last week Halloween? This last week I burned the candle at both ends and have ended up with a terrible cold and homebound for the past few days. A dear friend warned me of this fate several days back and said God would slow me down one way or another. By the way, God did not make me get sick that was my own doing for not taking it a bit easier. Friday evening as the night progressed I literally was praying, let me get through this night.
Well, I made it and the good news is I will live. The last few days I have watched a ridiculous amount of Christmas movies some of which I have no idea how they even made it through production but desperate times called for desperate measures and I had to take what I could get. I noticed a reoccurring theme with each and every movie, besides the theme of Christmas. It was some sort of expectation and the lack of the expectation being met.
It seems to be at holiday time starting with Thanksgiving and going right through Valentine’s Day that expectations are high and are seldom met with the fervor we were hoping for. During Thanksgiving we think this is the year things will be different we will all sit around the table and tell what we are thankful for. Children will express their great appreciation for their parents and all that they have been given no matter the age and it will result in a blissful conversation for the rest of the day. I am not saying that cannot happen or shouldn’t happen, I am just saying it does not usually happen. Instead, it goes down something like this…the mother scurries around all morning preparing a feast that few really help with. Everyone comes together and eats, then it being the day of electronics people pick up their phones, tablets or turn on the tv after the meal at which time the sleep agents kick in from all the turkey and that pretty much wipes out the rest of the day. All the while the mom goes to bed feeling unfulfilled and slightly disheartened, the rest of the family would say it was a great day. We ended the day feeling like some sort of connection was not made that we were expecting.
Roll forward a few days and here comes Christmas. It is the season where we want to set the tone in the home. We light candles, we bake and we decorate the home to be warm and inviting. We want everyone in the home to join in and enjoy it to it’s fullest, I mean come on it won’t happen again for 11 more months so let’s make this happen. Where are the warm fuzzies? Why isn’t everyone wanting to help decorate? How come no one is wanting to pull out the 2000 piece puzzle for us to sit around and put together? When are we all going to cuddle on the couch and watch Christmas movies and sip hot cocoa? We want to make memories, that will outlast us. We want it to be that year down the line when we are gone for our loved ones to look back and remember those times. We want a common subject to talk about in years to come so we laugh and smile together. We have expectations of how things are supposed to be.
I am most certainly guilty of the above but try quite consistently to make memories as often and frequently as I can. There are a few memories that we started when our kids were very little that are a tradition today. One of those is everyone with a cup of cocoa and A Muppet Christmas Carol on the screen. That is an expectation I have with my family each year. A couple of years back it was missed due to our crazy schedule and it left a little hole in my heart that year. I know, it is A Muppet Christmas Carol, kind of ridiculous. The hole wasn’t from missing the movie it was from missing the time together. We should never be that busy. I can tell you this…I won’t let it happen again if that means flaking out on a Christmas party somewhere else or even canceling a church event. You do what you can when you can. We are human and we have expectations but if we would just start taking one day at a time and instead of having expectations of what we think it should be, we would look at each opportunity as a time to make a memory. It may be unrealistic to have everyone home to bake cookies but perhaps one other person is at home you could connect with in that moment. Watch for the little moments God gives you. We seem to adopt this all or nothing mentality you need to abandon that way of thinking now, it will just lead to insurmountable expectations and it will leave you feeling empty and sad.
Remember first and foremost especially at this time of the year, Christmas is not about you. It is about Jesus. We need to remember to be a good representation of Him. Proverbs 27:19 says, Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart. Tuck that verse away and remember that over the next few weeks is your face showing God’s unfailing love or is it showing disappointment? Don’t let the enemy rob you of joy this Christmas season because of your unmet expectations from those around you. Have your own happy party! Turn on your tree lights, light some candles, play some Christmas music and bake some cookies, you may be doing it all by yourself at that moment but for most of you someone will come along that will enjoy a cookie, be thankful for that!
Until Next Time…
robynstroup 
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