
This comic cracked me up. So many of us “bent” the rules to make Christmas work for us. Whatever you decided, hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Our family chose Zoom, Facetime and outside, 6 feet apart meeting for an hour. I know others did Christmas like any other year. Some did a blend. So how did it go?
For me, I spent the day after Christmas reflecting on the changes we implemented this year. One of my favorite parts of the day was Zooming with my brother, who I haven’t seen since he recovered from Covid. Another favorite was making a yummy meal with my teens. We all worked together in the kitchen and it tasted great too! Not having the chaos of ton of us piled into my parent’s family room, that was missed. Our Christmases are always filled with laughter and light-hearted banter. I missed several parties with friends. Some cancelled, some continued on and I chose not to attend.
Now comes the hard question – how are your relationships with others? Are you mad at those who gathered without caution? Are you mad at those who skipped gathering because they felt cautious? You are most likely in one camp or the other. A friend of mine commented that we are seeing a side of people we wouldn’t normally see in every day life. We are seeing their beliefs played out in front of all of us. Do they value others lives? Do they value their own well-being? Do they respect authority? So many of us are forced to face these questions and see friends and loved-ones in a new light. I have one word for this dilemma – GRACE.
We need to extend grace to those who have disappointed us this season. We don’t have to restore and mend all of those broken relationships, but we do need to extend grace and forgiveness. We need to release the anger we may feel towards others. We need to let go of feeling blind-sided by people’s comments that were in direct opposition to our own. We need to let people be who they are. We need to move on. People disappoint us. They always will. God will not.
And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ~ Romans 5:3-5 NASB
For me, I will put my identity in Christ. I will allow some relationships to change based on new information I have learned about them. I will continue to press on to be God’s hands and feet in this troubled world. I encourage you to be reflective and productive.
Dream Big! Pray Big!