A DAY IN THE LIFEâ—½ ENCOURAGEMENT
Here we are again, friends. The holidays. That magical time of year when the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls fills the air (and yes, store bought canned ones still count because I said so), carols echo softly in the background (or in my case, likely a combination of Mariah Carey and Home Alone), and every woman I know is just one more school holiday concert away from crying in the pantry.
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Let’s just be honest...the holidays aren’t a season anymore. They’re a freaking Olympic level 2 month long marathon! Around this time every year, I start adding more items to my never-going-to-be-completed to-do lists while still pretending there’s a snowball’s chance in hell I’ll ever check all the boxes. And to any of you who moonlight as an unpaid project/holiday manager, therapist, hostage negotiator (because teenagers and family), and professional shopper who finds yourself saying “I’m fine, it’s fine, we’re all fine” on repeat while whisper yelling at the box of tangled Christmas lights that were NOT tangled when you put them in there last year…I see you. I am you.
While seemingly everyone else is frolicking around in matching pajamas and pretending their family pictures didn’t involve 47 retakes, we’re the ones trying to remember if we actually bought that one important gift, or if that was just one of those things we started to order, got distracted and definitely did not get back to it. I have also been known to buy gifts that I put in hiding places so good that I don’t find them again until March. Like, almost every single year.
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Pinterest leads us to believe that the holidays are about elegant tablescapes, fresh garlands, cocoa bars, and children who smile photogenically with no eye rolling or snarky comments. If I’ve learned anything (usually the hard way), it’s that the holidays
aren’t about perfection. They’re about people. And people, bless our hearts, are messy. Which is probably why grace matters more this time of year than tinsel, presents, or perfectly decorated trees.
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My holidays? Let’s just say my garland is from 2014 and sheds more than the dog, my kids look like they escaped from a witness protection program in every photo, and the only cocoa bar I have is a half-eaten Hershey’s in the junk drawer.
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Also, I have a special gift for selecting our yearly Christmas tree every year.
It leans.
It starts out leaning.
It is ALWAYS leaning.
At this point, I’ve accepted that the tree and I are simply reflecting each other’s emotional posture. Leaning, slightly confused, and held together with pure determination and some creative rope and twine accents.
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But here’s the thing. Despite all the chaos, the overwhelming anxiety, and the panic of running out of wrapping paper with two gifts left to go…this season still holds something soft. Something sacred. Something that reminds us why we keep showing up, even when we’re running solely on coffee and, well, more coffee.
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The magic around us doesn’t come from perfect décor or plans that actually go like they’re supposed to. It comes from that late-night wrapping session on Christmas Eve, even though every single year you swear you’re never waiting that late again (you will). Or the moment someone laughs so hard they snort (that’s usually me, but still). It comes from the Christmas movie night where everyone actually gets along for 27 full minutes. The traditions that make your heart feel like home and the peace that sneaks up on you in the middle of the mess.
Now, let’s talk a little about thankfulness. Not the Instagram version where we pretend to be grateful for “the little things” while we’re really taking deep, panic-stricken breaths while covered in whatever essential oil is supposed to be calming. I mean the real kind. The kind that grows in the middle of imperfection. I don’t believe we were meant to glide through life untouched. We’re meant to grow, to stretch, to find gratitude in the places we didn’t expect it. That’s where the good stuff hides…right in the middle of the mess. Because it may be messy, but it’s ours. Gratitude doesn’t erase the chaos…it just makes the chaos feel a little more worthwhile.
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Finally, here’s my little Christmas pep talk for anyone else limping through to the finish line…
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If Jesus can feed 5,000 with some loaves and fish, I think He can handle your overcooked sugar cookies. Let the cookies burn. That’s why God invented UberEats and Tiff’s Treats. Give up and rock the mismatched pajamas. And if the dog drinks half the tree water, at least they’re hydrated. Be proud that the memories you make are real. Don’t sweat the Martha Stewart-esqe social media snapshots you run across. I can almost guarantee that their kids didn’t have a cardboard roll fight after giving up on a wrapping even one more present to put under the tree. Again, I’ll take those core memories and sometimes barely taped up boxes of homemade gifts over a pretty picture any day!
And most of all, give yourself the permission to lean… just like my tree. We lean, but we don’t topple. That’s our superpower. You’re doing beautifully, even if it doesn’t look like it from the outside. Remember to give everyone a little extra grace (especially yourself). Offer extra smiles to strangers, even the mom in the carpool line who honks at you for pulling up in the wrong line. Don’t forget that we are all facing the silent, invisible battles…and the smallest acts of kindness can send out ripple effects that we’ll never see. Be the reason someone believes in hope again.
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And if this particular season of life has taught me anything, it’s that hope doesn’t always show up in big, shiny packages. Sometimes it looks like a warm hug, a kind word, or the simple reminder that we’re not alone in any of this. So from my leaning tree to yours…I hope your holidays are filled with more laughter than tears, small joys, unexpected peace, and the kind of gratitude that settles into your bones. We made it through another year y’all, and honestly, that alone deserves a standing ovation… or at least an uninterrupted nap.