Soooooooooooooooo this past weekend, between my husband and I, we totally and completely overbooked the Saturday for our family of four. I mean, we had agreed to be at three different places at nearly the same time. When I left my house at 7:00 IN THE MORNING, I had to think about packing the children for three different events, including a swimming party, returning home at 8:30pm.
Too much?
Yep.
Do I regret any of it? 
Nope.
I realize that’s not for everyone – and to be clear, it’s not for me all of the time either. I love my bed. And my couch. I miss them when I’m away. I PINE for them. This time of year can seem … overwhelming. In fact, in the car while hurriedly driving from one commitment to another my husband sighed, “I don’t want to hate Christmas.” In that moment, he let out his breath with those words, a little hopeless in the face of our endeavor.
It was then that I remembered something I had read recently, and that combined in my head with something else I had heard recently, and it all just clicked. Does that ever happen to you? It just clicked. I looked over at him from the passenger seat of our car and said. “We GET to do this.” I don’t think he understood me at first. Because, WHAT? “We get to do this.”
Have you ever stood back in awe in the midst of chaos? Not the kind of awe that causes your friends to start asking if you’re okay, but the kind where you can’t hold back the smile any longer. The magic of the moment overcomes you and you HAVE to smile at life. It turns out that THAT can be a choice. (Ooooooooh CONTROL. I LIKE control!)
In the middle of a sometimes cathartic listing-reasons-why-we’re-tired session, one of my friends put me to shame with such a mindful approach she had to the laundry. Instead of feeling like it was a chore, she turned grateful for each member of her family, thinking of and praying for them while she folded their socks. She GOT to do the laundry. She had a family whom she loved, that loved her. They dirtied clothes living life, being messy, having fun. ISN’T THAT WONDERFUL? Now, even she admitted that it’s not always singing, cartoon birds flying about her head while she’s placing socks in a pile, but even if she can do that 30% of the time? Wouldn’t her life be better? Would her perspective change?
Yep.
That’s what we can do about this crazy, hectic, wonderful season. We can decide that we GET to do this! This past Saturday, we had commitments and obligations but we also had opportunities to spend with friends that have become family, to serve our community, to put someone before ourselves. We GET to live this life.
Let it change your perspective during all of this busy-ness. OR take control! However you prefer to see it.
What do you GET to do?
