Meh at Best

Sick of the sea of holiday triumphs posted online —the gorgeous families posing on impressive front steps, festive firepits, and best friends holding hands as they walk away in their perfect, cozy-weather casual wear?

Ugg. If just seeing the photos makes you feel like you could die, let me assure you that plenty of people are having awful holidays. Most people, maybe. Those people don't tend to photo-dump their day on social media. You are not alone. I tell you in all honestly our Thanksgiving was meh at best and awful at worst. And I don't have the photos to prove it.

But why are holidays so dang hard? Let’s take a look.

First, days like Thanksgiving are not helped by the fact that everything is closed and the weather is blah, so you can't even get out of the house. Then it gets dark at 5:30 pm. Or 4:30 if you're in Central Time! Craziness.

Then there are the people. Relationships can be challenging. Or there are no people. Which can also be challenging.

But the biggest hurdle is the trappings (a perfect word for it). The trappings of the season are projected everywhere—media, social media, store promotions, and our own memories. We are lured by companies selling things like turkeys and door wreaths to have unrealistic expectations for what this “special” day should look like, literally and figuratively. If one more pillow tells me to "gather" or "celebrate"...

But here’s the truth. You can’t plan special. Sometimes the days marked as special on the mass-produced calendar aren't special at all. And that’s hard. But did you know that the literal definition of “special” is “not according to plan or schedule. The irony. (wordhippo.com)

Special usually happens when you don't expect it.

For example, one Sunday morning, my daughter and I were so late to church that we didn't even go in. We decided to go to a park and do our own study instead. Sitting there on the swing, laughing together with gorgeous autumn all around was an unexpected delight. And then we took selfies. She wanted selfies with me. ME! Not her most Instagrammable, Lulu Lemon-wearing friends, but me! Me, in my regular, non-athletic attire from at least last year or maybe last decade. She wanted to capture the happy time she was spending with me. If you have a teen daughter, you know how special that was.

That morning could have been awful. After all, we were so late to church that we didn't even go. That's late. It could have catapulted us right into a fury of blame and shame. But it didn't. The whole morning ended up being so special. And so unexpected.  Unexpected - not according to plan or expectation. Duly noted.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV