Traditions

Emma had a really hard time this Christmas. For the first time that she can remember, her Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle were all away for Christmas. Funnily enough, it wasn't the lack of gifts that bothered her - it was the step away from traditions. She was upset that we weren't having our yearly family brunch on Christmas morning. She was upset that we weren't going to the midnight carol service with my parents. It bothered her that we weren't going as a large group to the Zoolights. It wasn't enough that we were doing these things - she was upset that we weren't doing them the same way as we always do.

Aren't we all like that sometimes? Change is scary. It is inevitable, but scary. And when it's not on your own terms it's downright annoying. I'm trying to be better with this. To be more adaptable, to roll with the punches and be okay with changing my schedule when necessary - but it's hard and I don't like it.

Back to Emma, what has ended up happening this Christmas is that with my mum and co. away, we have been spending more time with other people ... my dad, for instance. Had Christmas unfolded the way it has done every other year, we may not have had the opportunity to have these other wonderful experiences. She got to go on a "date" with her uncle, she got to spend time with her granddad, have a playdate with her cousin, go skating with friends etc. So, despite the fact that it was a change - there was beauty that came about because of it.

That, too, is like life. We don't like change - we rail against it, and the forces that caused it but we often forget about the hidden blessings ... and then we're so surprised when we find them. We get lost on the way to our destination and end up having to take a back road past incredible scenery. We get laid off from a job that had been "paying the bills", only to be offered our "perfect" job a week later. We take a risk and have it pay off but not in the way that we expected. Life is not predictable. Neither is its Creator. And that's okay. Maybe ... just maybe, if we let the change occur and accepted it gracefully we may just find ourselves in the midst of something wonderful that we never would have seen otherwise.

I think Em has learned this lesson - she was commenting today on how much fun she has had spending time with Uncle David and Granddad. I truly hope she can recall this memory when life gets hard. Change is inevitable but instead bringing fear, hopefully it can bring with it the thrill and excitement of sailing uncharted waters and the reminder to look for the beauty that is found off the beaten path.