Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! We are now in the holiday season. Halloween is past, thanksgiving is only weeks away, and Christmas will be here before we know it. This is the time of year that everyone loves and dreads. We love the opportunity to decorate, cook, and see friends. At the same time, we stress out over getting everything right, having enough time and money, and being the perfect host. Guess what, we are going to make mistakes! Not only are we going to make mistakes, our husbands, wives, significant others, children, friends, neighbors, relatives, and others will also make mistakes.
If we have a healthy relationship and someone makes a mistake, it’s just a mistake, right? If we don’t have a healthy relationship, then we start to question the motives of the person making the mistake. Let’s start with ourselves. We are going to make mistakes. I know, you don’t want to think about it, but let’s face it, we will! It’s OK to make mistakes. Let’s learn from them and move on and not make the same mistake again. Not only are we going to make mistakes, our husbands, wives, significant others, children, friends, neighbors, relatives, and others are also going to make mistakes. We have to be OK with their mistakes and help them get through it.
So, people show up to your house and the food isn’t ready. If we have healthy relationships, this becomes a great opportunity to work together to finish the meal. This means that we have to allow others to help us and maybe even ask for the help. Or, we show up to someone’s house and it isn’t as clean as it usually is (or something is broken, or the glasses have spots, etc), take this as an opportunity to work together and have fun.
This holiday season is about friends and relationships, not perfection in hosting, gifting, or cooking. Only when we take that pressure off ourselves and others will we be able to see the opportunities! By the way, if you are in Grand Rapids, please call before stopping over-the house may not be clean!
Dr.Dale Shannon – Mandt Faculty
