Celebrating Traditions and Seeing Life Anew

Last month, I shared about the thankful season and one of the main reasons I'm extra thankful this year. Not only do we have the many blessings of family, friends and the opportunity to share God's light to others we meet, but we also have the gifts that God has given us so we can touch lives with our talents too.

For years, I never thought my love of children or my skills with caring for them meant much more than the fact that I enjoy them. That is...until I had a child of my own. :)

It's amazing how often the years of caring for other children gave me the skills I now use on an almost daily basis. That, along with a super-duper dose of patience and love have kept me going with my daughter even when I feel like I'm near exhaustion. It's those times when I rely on God's strength to keep me going. I know I'd never make it on my own strength. There simply isn't enough of that to last.

One of the best aspects of this Christmas season is having the opportunity to revisit all the wonder and joy of Christmas through the eyes of my daughter. Far too often, we get lost in the hustle and bustle or the hum-drum of repetitive traditions year after year. Seeing a child discover everything for the first time brings all the excitement back once more and even introduces a whole new perspective on certain aspects.

Traditions are explored on a whole different level, the hum-drum becomes woo-hoo as even the most mundane tasks are given a new dimension. This is only the beginning. There are many more years of enjoying a new lease on life as we celebrate the seasons with our daughter, making new traditions and continuing a few old ones.

So, this Christmas, take the challenge to see even just one tradition or aspect of the season through new eyes. You might just be amazed at the difference it makes in your life.

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Tiffany Amber Stockton is an author, online marketing specialist and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart. They have 1 daughter and a border collie. She has sold eight books so far to Barbour Publishing, is a columnist for the ACFW e-zine and writes other articles as well. Read more about her at her web site: http://www.amberstockton.com/.