Holiday Season

My goal for this holiday season is to do my best and appreciate the people I am spending it with for who they are. I love my family...my mom and dad, brother and sister-in-law, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. But the people I am used to spending the Christmas season with are in another country. They are my mission aunts, uncles and cousins, many of whom have watched me grow up since I was a toddler. I love and treasure the traditions of my mission family, so this year I will learn to love and treasure whatever semblance of traditions my biological family puts together.

Christmas in the States, throughout the years that I've been here for them...maybe four or five that I can remember out of my whole life, has always been an array of happenings. I used to look at it positively as having three Christmases in stead of just one. This year I need to learn that my family time matters more than just getting three sets of gifts.

It's interesting, too, how my love language is quality time, yet I don't really look forward to cultivating my relationship with my biological family through spending the little quality time I am able to. I need to look at my missing out on my mission family Christmas as cultivating relationships and spending quality time with my biological family.