New traditions are the new traditions!

I have made it through another first.  I spent Christmas Day as a divorced woman without the traditional family that I had been a part of for twenty-one years.  There were many phone calls and texts checking on me to see if I was okay. I am so thankful for all these good friends. Amazingly, I was okay. I can attribute that primarily to the grace of God. If someone had told me back in the spring that not only would I make it through Christmas, but I would have an enjoyable day, I would never have believed him.  That, my friends, is God's beautiful redemption at its best!

I spent the day with a very good friend.  (I might add that he has a few kingly qualities about him.)  We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner with very dear friends of his whom I had never met.  They graciously invited me into their home and made me feel like a part of their family.  I think that doing something completely new and different was a great source of comfort during what could have been  a difficult time. 

I love traditions.  There are some that we made this year that I hope we always keep.  I always get my girls a stocking and Christmas pajamas.  This year, they also got me a stocking and Christmas pajamas.  What a fun tradition.  I hope they will continue that.  (I am not above using the blog to drop a few hints.)

As much as I love traditions, when you go through a dark valley and lose someone in your life, new traditions can be a very helpful and healing way to deal with that loss.  So I started thinking that maybe my new tradition should be making new traditions every year.  Even if you haven't lost someone, it is a great way to make meaningful memories.  That was my experience this year.  I enjoyed a great day with a very dear person and made new friends.

I love to look through greeting cards.  I can spend hours reading them.  Recently, I picked one up that said, "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."  I liked that.  I could have done that on Christmas Day.  The day could have been spent focusing on what was and will never be.  But that is not healthy.  That is allowing yesterday to use up today and keep me from enjoying the wonderful experiences that God has to offer.

I was told by many people who have been through losses, whether death or divorce, that the first Christmas is the hardest.  They will only get better.  Well, in spite of everything that has happened in my life this year, I still had an enjoyable Christmas.  If they are only going to get better, then I have much to look forward to!

I ended the evening with my girls and my family in Echo.  There was much laughter, and a good time was had by all.  It was different, yes.  But it was okay and at the end of the day, I realized that I am okay as well.

Allow me to end with one more quote.  "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we may as well dance."  It wasn't the Christmas that I would have ever hoped for in my past life, but dance I did, and it was a wonderful day.

Isaiah 26:3-4
People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don't quit.
Depend on God and keep at it
because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.