It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas
Yes, we did it. We put up our Christmas tree. Two, to be exact. I really enjoy the minimalist style and mindset. Clean lines, no clutter. So much so that I've been going through our house and secretly stashing all the "extras" in our spare bedroom (soon to be nursery). That's going to be fun to go through and clean out in the months to come.
Anyways, this tree is the one in our living room and Reese has a white one in her bedroom that us girls have fun with! We decorate it with every color in the rainbow and top it with David and my very first Christmas tree topper! We put a train around the bottom that drives us all crazy and a tree skirt that matches nothing, but Reese loves it!
I know we're not alone in this, but our nice and neat "Pinterest" (or picture worthy) tree is in the living room and our fun and crazy ones are tucked away throughout the house. We make sure to put our very best out so everyone can see it and the ones we secretly like the most are hidden away where only our closest friends and family get to go.
I know you already know where I'm going with this, but I just can't help it. Isn't that so much like what we do every single day? We only let our true, crazy, fun loving selves out when we're around the right group of people. Eventually, I feel like we all forget who that person is. We forget the fun side of us or the goofy side of us. We get so wrapped up in being serious or being someone that everyone likes or trying to fit in to the right group of people, and we forget who we were to begin with.
We have a specific student in our youth ministry that you just can't help but love. He's so goofy and he just enjoys life. He doesn't take himself too seriously and I LOVE that about him! For the longest I couldn't figure out what it was about him that made him so different and so special from most other students we have, and this revelation hit me. I told David that I really enjoyed having him around for these very reasons.
For me, I've allowed myself to get to the place where I have worried so much about what others think that it's carried over into every part of my life. I have a hard time playing pretend with Reese because I feel silly or goofy and it's uncomfortable. I trip in public somewhere and I automatically feel myself blushing because I can't help but wonder who saw me or what they're thinking.
I guess that's one reason I'm starting the Christmas season so early. Last year was a difficult Christmas for me. Not for any specific reason, I just had a hard time enjoying it. I felt so rushed and pressured and stressed to find the perfect gifts and get everything accomplished. I didn't get to just slow down and enjoy the season. I'm one of those adults who still wakes up at 5:00 am on Christmas morning to "See what Santa brought!" (I know, most people think I'm insane.)
This year, I'm challenging myself to slow down, be goofy, laugh at myself, and play pretend with my daughter before she thinks I'm not cool anymore. I'm soaking up every single bit of Christmas that I can get, even if I start a little early. My prayer is that letting go in the small areas will help things flow over into the bigger areas of life.
Matthew 18:2-4New International Version (NIV)
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
