Are you dragging yourself to the Christmas finish line? I have felt that way some mornings this week. We’re not traveling this year, which leaves me torn. I’m happy not to be eight hours in airports and planes with four kids who are alternately over-excited and over-tired, but I’m disappointed not to be seeing family in Oklahoma and Arizona.

As I recounted the things that were annoying me this morning (laundry, two sick kids, an empty fridge), I felt like Cindy Lou singing “Where Are You Christmas?”

Then, I heard a small question in the back of my mind, “What were you expecting?”

Hmph. I don’t know. I expected to feel “Christmasy” or “jolly” or maybe a little less like I’d been run over by a sleigh.

The unending list of things to do, places to go, and people to see can blind me to what I should really expect at Christmas.  So after a little prayer and reflection, I adjusted my expectations this morning:

1. Things probably won’t go as planned. If I can release what I think the day should be, I can enjoy whatever comes.

2.     It’s okay to mourn people I miss and places I am not. Christmas is a little different each year as we grieve those who have gone on, celebrate the new ones that enter our lives, and miss family and friends back home and afar.

3.     I expect to hug the people around me and grin at their antics. (This will likely include the daily Beiber Christmas album dance series. I promise to stop covering my  eyes and ears, for just one day.)

4.    I’ll hold tight to what I know is true—God is with us, an unimaginable gift.

Releasing unrealistic expectations frees me up to embrace the day with wonder instead of worry. Praying you and yours have a day (and a year!) full of the wonder of God’s love.