I have spent the last week watching friends on social media post about the beginning of their Christmas traditions with their families. Elf on the Shelf, dressing up the kids in Christmas outfits and going to see Santa, visiting the town square and seeing all the buildings lit up, unwrapping a book every night to read before bed, building gingerbread houses, going to see The Nutcracker, riding the Christmas train and honestly these are all wonderful things that build precious memories with our kids. All of those things I have done myself in years past with Noah and Isaiah. This year though I am being forced to embrace the simplicity of Christmas. Before you say to yourself "who needs to be forced into that" Let me explain. Being a single mom I've always tried extra hard to ensure my kids had memories and experiences. I have never had the money to do yearly vacations, my kids have never been to Disney World or even seen the beach, so whenever I have been able to I have always tried to give them memories and traditions. This year looks very different for the boys and I. Our surrounding family is separated, There will be 5 empty seats at Christmas dinner, I'm working 12 hour days which makes for an exhausted Mommy most days on top of homeschooling, extra money for fun stuff is non-existent and here recently I found myself getting depressed at how I wasn't going to be able to provide my boys with everything I have in the past. (i.e. Christmas memories) That's where the Lord grabbed me out of my pit and reminded me of what I already knew. Don't you just love when the Lord does that :-)
I may not be able to provide all that fun stuff for my boys this year but I can provide them with memories of sitting on the couch snuggled under a blanket, looking at our Christmas tree lit up while reading our Advent storybook and talking about the real reason we celebrate Christmas and how thankful we are for Jesus, because during times like this, where things are hard, we have hope in Jesus and we know everything will be okay. So while this year looks very different, I'm choosing to embrace this continued season of change for the boys and I and enjoying a simple Christmas this year. A Christmas where the best gift of all isn't found under the tree on Christmas morning, but is living inside of us all year long, all the days of our lives.
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