Life isn't perfect

I've been thinking a lot this afternoon about the upcoming holidays. Not the usual gotta do lists but something a former pastor use to preach every year about this time, that this is the most stressful time of year for many (hmmm...most?) people. The reason for this...reality vs. our expectations of the weeks ahead.

In my own life, there have been very few Holidays that have come close to what I would have wanted (much less perfection). However, I have found ways to make them very enjoyable. I will be sharing some ideas in the next week.

If there is one thing I'd say ahead of time, I would once again quote Edith Schaeffer. "If you expect perfection or nothing, you will always end up with nothing." What does this translate to in our lives at the Holidays? If you will only be happy with a Norman Rockwell picture-Christmas or Thanksgiving--you will probably end up unhappy.

In our own homeschool community, there are many broken marriages. I am continually shocked (and I'm not easily shocked, believe me) by the marriages falling apart and how many of them are fathers leaving their families for either another woman or "freedom". I'm not shocked by the number of families today living on next to nothing financially (raise hand here, whoo hoo...HERE!). There have been true tragedies that affect people such as one online friend I've known since the 90s who lost both her husband and son in a traffic accident. They have just gone through the third (hard to believe) anniversary of that event.

Life isn't fair, it isn't Heaven, yet. We can have joy in the season. Stay tuned...