The wrapping paper and boxes have gone from tree-side to curb-side this morning. Coming off the traditions of the family, friends and giving and receiving, I, myself, have a pile of boxes and tissue paper at my feet just waiting to be reused next year.
Looking back over the pictures of how full the tree looked before Christmas morning, I realized how blessed of a year it’s been. Not blessed in the things or stuff we have but the lives around us. Each present or Christmas card we received represented a relationship we have with someone. You care enough about those people to acknowledge them during the busy season and vice versa. Some relationships are expressed in multiple gifts or more expensive goodies, however, there is a level of doing for others that comes ONLY at Christmas time.
In the midst of one of the hardest years, I can’ help but think that this is the season that helps us redefine what our relationships are about. What do they stand for in your life? People who flow in and out of our year are like presents we get under the tree. Some we only enjoy for a brief time/experience like candy in the stocking, while others are keepsakes that you enjoy for years to come like a picture or game system but much like the presents themselves; you have to take it out of the pretty wrapping/box for it to be full enjoyed. No matter how exciting they may be brand new or how amazing the wrapping looks, there’s a deeper level of enjoyment that comes from opening them up and investing time into the enjoyment of that present.
Nothing can be more empty than to live our lives by putting things in a box and leaving them there. Whether that’s your friendships, your marriage, your faith or even yourself. Limiting any or all of these brings people into depression or anger. I’ve seen this year alone ways that I missed out on greater things from people, my wife and my God because I chose to keep that part of them isolated or part of myself in a box. You might say it’s because we guard our hearts because we’ve been hurt in the past but that’s what the journey of life and love should be about; opening ourself up to love hard. People are put into our life for a reason but we get out of it what we put into it.
As the New Year starts, it’s all about the ‘do-overs.’ We get second chances to make good on those relationships that may be failing/judged, draw boundaries around those that need protection while truly looking at where we wanna go in life based on faith or personal growth. This can help us raise the bar in our life.
There will be those you reach out to that won’t want to be reached for and all you can do is let them know that you are there for them when THEY are ready. Your journey is different then their’s are even if it looks similar at times. Healing and trust are those areas in life that have no set timetable; it varies for everyone. All you can do is take things outta the “boxes” you’ve been keeping them in and open yourself up to the pretty things that await inside.
The Marriage Playbook
~where marriage is going~
