I’m really am a Christmas girl. I love it all. Well, almost all. The snow and twinkle lights and candles and cookie-baking.
But Christmas also means more people. Family and guests visiting, more traffic in parking lots, more people at parties. And I’m an extrovert, so that’s ok except that when people are extra busy they’re stressed and not the best version of themselves so it’s easy to get squashed in the crush of “me” and “my” and “this is what I want”.
Basically we’re all a pretty opinionated and selfish lot.
This is what happened to me the other day. My feelings got hurt. Repeatedly. And it seemed like I couldn’t say anything right and that kind of became a self-fulfilling prophecy. I tried harder and felt worse and I kept trying to tell my face to relax and un-prunify (Yes, that’s a new word meaning “look less like a prune”).
The next morning as I was praying about this and asking God what the heck I should do, I felt prompted to close my eyes, be still, and practice the Examen, reviewing my day with Him. As I did, it felt like my insides unclenched a tad, and like the Grinch at the end of the story, my heart grew a tiny bit.
I noticed things to thank God for and things to confess, like my pride.
The two things that He impressed on me to take into my new day were gratitude and the prayer, “Help me to see this person as You do.”
So today my goal is today is to notice and express thanksgiving and affirmation, and repeat my little prayer. What are helpful practices for you in the crush of the holidays?
Find areas of get togethers where there are smaller groups. Often a great way is offering to help. Help cook in the kitchen, watch young kids, or run errands to pick up last minute things. You look kind, it gives you a purpose and topic to discuss, and it’s less intimidating than mingling with a group of people.