Another great post from Kathryn!
Yesterday was my last day in the office before Christmas. We had our Christmas party and some of us won’t see each other again until 2020. Others have a few days’ work left yet! As I drove home, rather than feeling the usual excitement of finishing work for Christmas, I found myself a little overwhelmed… Overwhelmed at the thought of facing Christmas (and the New Year!) with so much uncertainty about what we will face in the year ahead… Overwhelmed at the thought of having more thinking space during the holidays… Overwhelmed at being without the support of my work community in the next few weeks… Overwhelmed at the thought of the adrenaline drop that might come after the buzz of the busy run up to Christmas… Overwhelmed at the thought of trying our best to keep everyone well so that we can be together over Christmas with no hospital stays… Overwhelmed with the pressure to have the best Christmas ever when reality is that life in our family of 6 is busy and loud at the best of times and we will all have meltdowns…
Then this morning No. 3 son pushed a card under the bathroom door and left for school. The card was so thoughtfully made and inside he had written “Have the best Christmas possible!!!!!” We always talk about No. 3 son being the one who hears from God and that simple line brought tears to my eyes! It didn’t say “Have a perfect Christmas”. It didn’t say “Have the best Christmas ever”. It said have the best Christmas “possible”.
Christmas this year is different. It has been different for the last 3 years and it will always be different. We’ve already learnt that expecting perfect is unrealistic but I really needed the reminder and the reassurance that the best we can do is what is “possible”. I expect that as we spend time together as a family this Christmas the “possible” will look different for each new day. No doubt there will be days where we feel joy-filled and awestruck at the goodness of God and the blessings of our four boys (plus one puppy and one elderly cat), family, friends and community. No doubt there will be days when sadness weighs heavily and we just don’t feel like doing anything. No doubt there will be days when we laugh at silly things. No doubt there will be days when we cry or get cross over small things. Some days we might experience a mixture of them all!
I hope that whatever each day holds we will only focus on the “possible” and not the “perfect”. We won’t have a perfect Christmas but we will have the best Christmas possible and I trust it will be more life-giving by far!
Possible not perfect makes complete sense. Thankyou No 3 son, for guiding us all. Much love to you all this Christmas. Lots of love is possible.
Love this Kathryn. You all continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. Possible rather than perfect is just wonderful. Out if the mouths of babes……
Your post bless me. Thank you for sharing. I’m so proud of you and your family and how you share and bless so many friends with your faith and trust in God. Thank you and continued prayers for you all.
Merry Christmas!
Wow, thanks for sharing this Kathryn, a reminder for us all. xx
Thank you, Katherine. I want to send love to you all. I spent time last week in hospital with our youngest. She is fine and home now but there were a couple of very scary days. Through them lots of people were praying and I could almost physically feel their prayers calming me, and giving me energy when it all felt too much.
Your post is so wise, and 3rd son so inspired. I’m praying that through it all you are able to feel the love and prayer that surrounds you, and take enough energy to have the best Christmas possible. I’ll be praying
This is beautiful Kathryn. Sometimes if we can’t do perfect, we can just give up and blame ourselves or our situations. Sometimes the best possible is all we can manage – thank you for reminding us that this is ok!
All way in our prays xx
❤️Beautiful. We can all learn from this. Your 3rd son read very thoughtfully and beautifully this morning!