Christmas can be a joyful reunion of family members who travel from afar. It can be a time in which everyone can catch up with the news from those that have routinely been unable to meet because of where they live. Meeting around the Christmas tree or sitting around the Christmas dinner offers a wonderful time in which family can support each other for the coming year. It is a time in which specific needs or guidance can be enjoyed. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind during that great meeting in the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Avoid waiting your time to talk. Some people really don’t listen to what another person is saying. Those of the conversation may only be waiting their turn to input into the conversation. Think of how you can contribute so much to the family meeting by active listening. Discover that which is informational which would be an encouragement to the one speaking. Instead of being sympathetic, train yourself to be empathetic. Recognizing someone’s problems is not enough. It is better to relate to someone on the basis that you really know and understand what they have experienced during this last year.
Be in touch with your own emotions as you witness the fellowship in your family, monitor whether or not you should proceed into a certain subject area that could be helpful or harmful. Christmas time is not a time to inflict emotional pain on someone else. If you understand the other family members’ situation, you will go a long way to improve your understanding of what they had been experiencing. Take note of how your family member has changed so that it becomes a warning in which way to deal with that person. While you are communicating with the family, honor your own boundaries to protect yourself for what sensitive areas you have.
Some people do not appreciate Christmas as much as you do. Some people only come together for the fellowship and the food. There could be those people in your family that might have slipped away from the basic convictions about the birth of Christ. If the opportunity presents itself whereby you can help refocus the other person on faith, be sensitive to their doubts and hurts. Recognizing the significance to their experience and relationships while they have been living away from home is a wonderful way to walk in their shoes. They may have resorted to repression as a way to avoid the consequences of pain. Their emotions are not necessarily permanent, long-lasting, or unchangeable but avoid shoving into them your idea how to live as a Christian.
By listening actively, you will create a means for a loved one to solve problems for themselves. Make sure to affirm them as a person deserving respect. It can be so easy to take a family member for granted. They may not be around forever. Their life and lifestyle is unique to themselves. Allow them the opportunity to suggest ways in which the family can grow together for the coming year. If a particular issue hangs in the balance requiring some type of resolution, schedule a meeting with those involved to hash out any differences. This can offer beautiful ways for the family to reflect on the love of Christ. While you offer validation to them, not just as a family member, but as a fellow human being that deserves respect even though they may have anger or cause, while bringing them into your confidence rise to the higher level of integrity. Especially in a family during a holiday there might be an opportunity to emotionally blackmail someone else. Take note of those efforts while avoiding a premature rush to solutions.
Christmas gatherings must be protected as a way to honor the birth of Jesus. Take your love of God into that gathering. Use tenderness and humility as you relate to Christmas with relatives. Allow the Holy Spirit to be present in your gathering so that you are not as a group just ripping open packages and gobbling down food. Let your love for Jesus shine forth from your heart so that the Christmas family gathering reflects his love. When you leave that gathering, leave behind a positive impression on those you claim to love. Leave behind what Jesus would leave behind were he personally sitting at your family meal. Implement all of the Christian principles during that time with family such as kindness, to give to them as you would have them do to you, allowing God’s love to affect you and them.
Christian Writer 