Do you realize a week from today we will be eating Halloween candy, cooking Chili, and hopefully putting the finishing touches on our costumes? (You're dressing up, right?)
Once Halloween passes, we will find ourselves on the threshold of Thanksgiving, staring all of those preparations squarely in the face with no place to hide.
Then, the second the leftover turkey is stashed away, the advent season begins and brings the barrage of activities and festivities that is December, ending in the crescendo of Christmas morning.
Guys, it is go time.
Experience has taught me that while mapping out menus and creating gift lists are important ways to prepare, there is a less-obvious step that needs to happen. I need to prepare my heart.
Holiday are hard, even in the best of situations. Even with much to be grateful for, we are still the bearers of wounds, messy memories, unfulfilled longing, and tender places that require as much care as setting the table or wrapping a gift.
What if we gave our hearts some advance attention as we begin to step into the holidays this year?
The human condition is to taste sadness and to experience joy, perhaps at the same time. It can result in an inconvenient mess. But we have time to get ready and prepare our hearts, mess and all.
When my mess shows up, I listen. I create space for quiet tears or angry walking or silent contemplation. Like a weary guest, I welcome my complicated emotions and see what they need. I invite them to pull up a chair and tell me what's going on, and I do my best to listen and respond with the same care and curiosity I would offer a friend.
This approach rarely solves core issues, but it does allow me to walk through the holidays with integrity and honesty, which in turn allows me to better love those with whom I will see and celebrate.
As we prepare for the holidays in the coming weeks, may I encourage you to also prepare a place for whatever your heart holds? Beauty and belonging are found in the places we sometimes least expect it.
