Wedding anniversaries come and go without me even giving them a second thought anymore. This past week, right after Thanksgiving, however is the time each year that I struggle with ‘special’ dates the most. 5 years ago, right after Thanksgiving we took a family trip to Florida in hopes of making wonderful memories at a time when our family needed, when I so desperately needed, new great family memories to cling to as we struggled to keep our marriage together.
This was the trip when I knew my marriage was on its last leg. This was the trip when John spent the entire week in the ICU. This was the trip when we realized Disney was not the happiest place on Earth for the Wanninger family. This was the worst trip. Ever.
This was also the most perfectly timed trip. Ever. While it’s still hard to understand the path my life has taken, isn’t it wonderful that these ‘special’ memories fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas? I spend the time leading up to this week focused on thankfulness and after the week that still gives me a bit of anxiety, I choose to focus on giving and sharing with others, spend time with those that mean the most to me, and celebrate Jesus’ birth. So while I may feel anxious and allow myself to feel every piece of it, those feelings are short lived cause they are sandwiched between 2 wonderful holidays putting my focus on more important things than the past.
This morning, a friend who doesn’t know the feeling of anxiousness I have been experiencing, out of the blue sends me words of encouragement and provided me with a bible verse.
Be glad in the Lord always! Again, I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be ANXIOUS about anything; rather bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:4-7
How cool is that? Definitely a God wink! Guess that’s perfect timing for me to switch gears. Time to put away the last lingering bit of anxiousness and bring on more holiday fun! Praying that each of you can enjoy the holidays and memory making moments with the ones you love regardless of what is weighing heavy on your heart.
