Don't Let the Stressing Blind Your Blessing
Don’t let the stressing blind your blessing this season.
The holiday season often reminds me of Disney World - something that is supposed to be a magical time filled with fun, laughter, and memories, but you get there and there’s a lot of yelling, stress, and kids crying everywhere.
I’m currently planning a Disney trip, and I keep reminding myself to set realistic expectations—therefore don’t get upset when my plans don’t pan out perfectly because my three kids (5 and under) have a meltdown in the middle of a park after they were out past bedtime four nights in a row and hyped-up on six different kinds of sugary snacks.
If you’re anything like me, this is not the easiest task. I have the coordinated outfits ready, the list of rides and shows, and this picture-perfect scenario in my head of my daughter running into the arms of Minnie Mouse- her beloved TV character. When in reality, the outfits are going to get ice cream on them in the middle of Main Street, they’re going to see rides they would rather do, and my daughter will most likely run in the opposite direction when her favorite character who appears 2 inches on screen becomes 6ft tall.
At that moment, I know I’ll want to stress that any future pictures are ruined by the ice cream stains on their shirts, that they didn’t get to experience the ride I researched for months, or that my hopes and dreams are crushed that the perfect character interaction didn’t happen. Instead, I want my eyes open to the blessings.
The stress and the ideals of the world will always rob you of the blessing right in front of you. The world will tell you that your kids won't be happy if you don’t have 18.5 gifts under your tree. The world will tell you if you don’t do at least one-holiday activity per weekend, you’re missing out on memories. The world will tell you if your house isn’t decorated with all the Instagram-influenced aesthetics, then don’t even bother decorating.
It’s so easy to fall into these lies and be blinded from your blessing.
My prayer for myself and for you is that this Christmas season, our eyes are set on the Lord’s blessings; that we can have peace and joy, not tainted with the stress and unrealistic perfection of the world. We won’t need to worry about what’s under the tree, whether we checked off all the holiday activities, or if our house looks like a magazine, but we’ll clearly see and enjoy the blessings of our family and friends right in front of us.