Has this ever happened to you guys? You go out and have a lovely experience outside the family home. It doesn’t matter what it is: maybe it’s a relaxing walk, a meaningful visit with a friend, a successful appointment at the hair salon, whatever the event may be, you’re feeling peaceful and serene. Then, you walk back into the family home. There, you’re met by your spouse who is all jacked up, hollering at kids left and right, and you think to yourself, “St. Christopher! Who put a Fraser fir spur in his cantankerous corduroys?” Fast forward—and we’re talking less than 24hrs Team–he’s the one walking in the back door calm and refreshed and yer all, “I just asked one of the little pips to put his leftovers from last night in the fridge and he looked at me like I just asked him to check my friggin’ head for lice larva! What is wrong with these children?!”

My point is, at this time of year especially, it helps to remember that I have absolutely no idea what other people have going on in their lives at any given moment. It could be the daily stresses of life with work, teenagers or toddlers, the loss of family member or friend, financial unrest—it could be any number of things. While this season begs for us to be merry and bright, that’s just not realistic for a lot of people. The best Christmas gift for everyone on my list this year is straight up grace. 

Here are some examples of the “gift of grace” that I can hand out this month:

Maybe the person in the car behind me honks because I’m not going fast enough; I can present a wave instead of a finger.

Perhaps the cashier’s pissy attitude is taking all the holly-jolly out of my shopping; I can provide a warm smile rather than an evil eye roll.

Or, maybe my husband is snippy about something that seems completely ludicrous to me; I can simply listen rather than judge. 

Of course, with all of these examples, my initial reaction might be to become annoyed or irritated. But the fact remains, I simply don’t know what emotional loads other people are carrying this holiday season. And while I don’t have to accept unacceptable behavior, I can certainly give others the benefit of some good old fashioned mercy. My hope is that if I offer enough tolerance, maybe, just maybe, I’ll get some in return when I’m Ebenezer Scrooging my way through the day—a girl can dream!

Next week, I’d like to talk about what I absolutely need in order to offer up grace over the next several weeks, so please be sure to tune in so you can hear what that magic ingredient is.

And Team! I’d like to take time to give a huge shoutout to my remarkable friend, Kelly Tonks. She is the artist behind all the new weekly Confessions photos. It has been so fantastic working with Kelly. I deeply appreciate her unwavering support of me, her steadfast creativity, and how she magically makes something that I’m not so thrilled about doing, so. much. fun. THANK YOU, KELLY T!

Until next week TeamC!