I will answer that Question? Yes, I'm tired. I am certainly glad there is a week of "rest" awaiting me! Are you saying, "That WOULD be nice." Well, it's more rest than I will have after the New Year comes. Most of my readers have small children or children diagnosed with a disability( that's me too). My life is different from everyone else on planet earth but I will share it since it's the only life I know. December has been busy for me just like for each reader of Connecting One Piece at a Time. It's not because of the parties I've thrown or the homemade Christmas gifts I've made. It isn't about the Christmas pictures I've sent out. It isn't about all the things that make up Christmas for many of my friends.
WHY? There are two significant things that change things for me at Christmastime.
1. I am a pastor's wife. The life of a pastor's family is (at least our family) is about reaching out to those who need to hear about the Love of a Savior. It is a time to reach out to those God puts in our path. That has meant that I have to simplify Christmas activities in our home so I have the margins to fulfill our Christmas calling. I have not always done so well with this. The meltdowns used to come on Christmas afternoon because I tried to do it all, but I just could not sustain it. I did it but I took my whole family down with me! This year I was able to attend many Church events that reached out to International people in our community and to women around our area. I was able to go volunteer at Operation Christmas Child Regional Center in Minneapolis for a day. My daughter and husband came to our home for a couple of weeks with a student from Africa. I had a busy work schedule this December which is a change from my stay at home mom stage while my children were growing up. I did cook but there were no homemade cookies or fudge!
2. The other factor that caused me to simplify our Christmas activities our son's diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum. There was lack of sleep, meltdowns and more meltdowns. I had shopping for teacher gifts, grandparents and our little family. There were Secret Santa/angel activities at school. There were Children's Christmas programs. This schedule was intense for any mom but throw in a dose of autism and there was only one choice: simplify. It was a necessity if I was going to survive! In those days I didn't do as many ministry things at Christmas. The biggest ministry thing I did was attend the services and special events and help my children pack their Operation Christmas Child boxes to send to a child somewhere in the world.
As I end this post, I want you to think about how you want Christmas to look like next year at your home. Take time to evaluate what you really can do and what is most important to you and your family.
Have a great New Year!
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