For Your Family
This Christmas season, we will all get a chance to catch up with our families for an extended period of time outside of the normal busy blur of the rest of the year. 2020 has obviously been different for many of us, but it seems many are busier than normal simply adapting to the constant change this year has brought. This year is also a unique time due the cracks we seen form in many areas of health, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Those of us who have been doing our best to maintain our health have a gift we can give to our families this year. If you’re enjoying good health, maintaining a low level of stress, despite what is going on, and being wise with your finances, you have many things you can give this Christmas and be a huge blessing to your family:
Physical help: We’ve been keeping up our health not just for ourselves, but so we can be useful to others. If you have a family member or friend who needs help with something physical this Christmas - moving, organizing, winter yard work… etc.. offer to help them. You can bless them with the physical health you enjoy and get a good chance to catch up - outside is a great option, too, if you want some fresh air or space.
Mental help: With CrossFit, we tend to have to deal with things we don’t always enjoy… burpees are an example I don’t need to explain :) With how we train, after a little while, normal life bumps and bruises are honestly not that bad. Not to minimize the things we have to deal with in normal life, but there is absolutely mental strength gathered from working hard and choosing to work through difficult things, fitness or otherwise. You have the bandwidth to listen to your family’s struggles, or help them shoulder the burden of a difficult situation. Sometimes, just listening is all it takes, and you have the ability to do so in a healthy way. When you get a chance, genuinely ask how someone is doing.. and then truly listen.
Spiritual help: For me, I’ve found strength in knowing that regardless of what is going on in 2020, Jesus is still King, which means He is still in control. The world may spin out of control in many ways, but nothing, I repeat nothing, can unseat Christ. For those of you who have a relationship with Jesus, you have a peace that is hard to describe to those that don’t. You can use this to be a foundation for your family and a calm in the sea of storms. If you aren’t a believer, there is still incredible wisdom and peace to be found in the Bible - a good place to start is Proverbs (just google). There are so many reminders and solid advice for life you can learn from. Spend some time this season reading, and for those of you who are believers, praying for your family and friends. We all need it.
Financial help: For those of us in better financial situations than others who may have lost their businesses, jobs, or other situations, if you are in a good place, you can help those around you. Donating money is always a good thing, but for some, it can be tough to accept or do so tactfully. A great idea is to bring dinner to a friend’s family with a card as a socially distant option, or invite them over for dinner (and again, you can do this outside on a nice day if you prefer space!). Or, take them to lunch/dinner out. Another option is randomly getting a few people or a family Christmas gifts - it can be anonymous if preferred, but little things like this can make a difference.
This time of year is a wonderful time to think about things outside of your own needs. This year those abundance have the opportunity to make a large positive impact in those around us, and I don’t need to emphasize how much we all need to continue to encourage each other this year. Enjoy making someone smile! :)
Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?
~ Proverbs 17:17