Ugly Christmas Sweater

 "Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face." Mike Tyson

This morning I had the pleasure of voluntolding (You know when they tell you have to volunteer) at Xman's school.

My job was to secure the premises. Well, not really but that sounded better.

My job was to sit outside the bathroom and frequently check the bathroom to make sure it was clean, not damaged, etc.

As one can imagine, I met quite a few students today as they came/went from the restroom area.

Today is the last day for most before Christmas break. There were presentations to give. Projects to turn in. Midterms to take.

Stress abounds.

Just a few feet from me was the "Ugly Christmas Sweater" competition. You could have your picture taken to enter. There were new from Walmart sweaters. Home made sweaters with duct tape and decorations. Borrowed from a fun grandma sweater.

Silliness abounds.

It was odd to see within a few feet of each other, from the same students, this juxtaposition of feelings.

Stress.

Silliness.

You could tell some students had totally succumbed to the stress. No silly Christmas sweater. No time for fun.

Others appeared to have thrown in the stress towel and gone all aboard the silly train.

I was thinking as I watched the students today how being able to find the joy in the stress is a life skill.

There will always be hard. Therefore, there will always be stress.

BUT.

There will always be the option of joy.

Mama Warriors, help us prepare for Christmas by choosing joy.

Remind us that joy comes in when we allow ourselves to embrace what is ours to carry.

Joy lies in the fight, in the attempts, in the suffering - not in the victories.

Joy is in the journey.

Joy is sporting the ugly Christmas sweater in the midst of the suffering.

Joy was found laying in the manger. Help us come to the manger and receive the joy that is offered.