Fall: Reminiscent of Love
I remember this time like it was yesterday. The crisp mornings and evenings. The changing leaves. The sun setting sooner. Most memorably, the “double” family gatherings. This is the time to be divided as person because of the decisions that were made long ago.
My parents divorced when I was five. I don’t think I can remember a Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year when my celebrations were not in more than one location. As soon as I learned how to drive, I was always rushing to a different homes during those special days. Fall is definitely a reminder that those days will be here before I know it. Fall is a sobering reality.
Dealing with the slump of the soon to be holidays can be a major hurdle to cross. After 21 years, this routine gets so old. How do I get through it?
Accentuate the positive. Be grateful for the family you have with all the quirks, wrinkles, spots and blemishes. We all have places in which we can grow. Be open and honest about your feelings—they are after all your feelings. Express them in a safe place (with people who can help not hurt). Enjoy this season and the ability to love others. It’s a gift.
I’m not saying anything will change about the past but there will be a new perspective about the future. Let fall be the time to trigger love instead of pain. Let fall be a time of preparation for the new instead of suspicion of the old.
Our great God says, “Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) Do you believe it?
Well, the Canadian Thanksgiving just passed and for the first time, I wasn’t with my children or my own family. It was difficult and the first time always is, but I made my own plans, let myself feel sad and even cry and went to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a noisey time of young children and lots of food and I was thankful.
Keep up the good work, it encourages me and many others.
Thanks for sharing Louise. If I could speak for my mother, I know that she felt the sting every time there was a holiday that we spent with the other side of our family. I’m not sure that sting every really leaves. It never leaves me when I have to leave her side of the family either. It is something about being with your family on those special days. However, life isn’t always ideal. We work with what we have and as you said we are grateful. Thank you for sharing…helps to hear others stories and know you are not alone.
As a Newbie, I am continuously browsing online for articles that can be of assistance to me. Thank you