On Holidays and Intentionality

As much as I am a summer girl, I am also a holiday girl. The holidays give me another reason and more motivation to be intentional. In fact, holidays themselves are an exercise of intentionality.

Every day, I feel the need and the call to be intentional - for every word and every movement to count for something - to leave mediocrity behind - to never say, "That's good enough," but to always give it my all. In my heart and in my mind, this is what it means to do it all as unto the Lord.

And if I feel this way every day, I feel it even more so during a holiday. Without being intentional (is there a synonym for this word? Because, I can't think of one, and it's gonna get overused....) about creating meaningful traditions, sticking to those traditions, gathering together, remembering, and capturing the essence of the holiday, the special day becomes nothing more than another day....except with the added stress of food preparation, traveling, many people shuffling around one house, overtired children........you know the scene. But when family, remembering, thanking, celebrating are the cornerstones of the day, when you choose to see it all as a blessing, when you realize you don't deserve any of it, suddenly there is grace galore for every moment of it.

Last Thursday on Veteran's Day I was exceptionally exhausted. I had worked a bit more than usual that week and the week before, I was behind on every household task, and outside of a few minutes in a quick shower, I hadn't had time to myself to read, write, or pray. I was done.

When I had planned meals a week and half prior to this, I had forgotten to take into account Veteran's Day, and when I looked at the weekly menu scribbled on scratch paper, I was dismayed to see that leftover bean soup was all I had planned for the night. It was already 3:00, and any other night leftover homemade soup would have been a treat and I could have curled up on the couch with my kids and some books. My husband expected nothing fancy tonight and had assured me that morning that leftover soup was just fine.

But my heart was not settled with "just fine" for tonight. I want to honor my husband every day, but even more so on Veteran's Day. Few people are willing to sacrifice as much as he did to fight for a cause few believe in anymore. And is it really honoring if I only honor when it's convenient for me? So before I knew it, I found my fingers dialing a number to invite over for supper the brother-in-law and his wife home on leave.

I knew what I had to make for supper that night. It is true that my husband's favorite dish is simply a casserole, but what it so deceiving about it is the length of time that recipe requires. My mind calculated the cooking of nearly 4 pounds of chicken, the de-boning, the mixing of soups and salsa, the cutting of tortillas - all during pirhana hour when everyone wants a piece of mom (the term "pirhana hour" is lovingly borrowed from a Bible study by Linda Anderson)- and deemed the task almost possible. On top of that, I had none of the ingredients in the house, which meant a trip to the grocery store with the kids during the "after work hours" rush. After taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer, I dove in and soon the hotdish was bubbling away in the oven while I scrubbed the kids down in the bath tub, because yes, it was also bath night.

I would be lying if I said it wasn't exhausting. But is avoiding exhaustion really worth giving up intentional honoring, celebrating, and gathering together? Is my personal comfort more important than teaching my kids by example how to honor someone in authority, more important than showing love and servitude in one of the most universal ways, preparing a meal?

Today I face the repercussions of a busy two weeks and multiple family gatherings with a very untidy house. But as I wash and scrub and fold and cook, I will choose to be intentionally grateful.

Joining in with the Gratitude Community over at A Holy Experience to thank God for:

#31. early family Thanksgiving gatherings

#32. more delicious food than we could all eat

#33. meeting more of Adam's relatives

#34. someone else understanding why I take pictures of tables and table settings from as many different angles as I can.....even though none of them really turn out how I want them to

#35. wandering around the woods with this new friend and distant relative through marriage taking pictures

#36. learning to see the beauty in the small things

#37. so many adoring uncles

#38. a Christmas Ornament tradition started over 35 years ago

#39. that I am now included in this tradition and can watch my children become a part of it as well

#40. generations of family celebrating, thanking, loving, living under one roof