38. 7 Tips to Maintain Your Sanity and Peace for a More Enjoyable Christmas with Extended Family

Let’s be honest, the holidays can feel stressful for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones being the challenges & dynamics that often come with time with our extended families!

 

So let’s talk about how we can navigate it with much more peace. You don’t have to be a victim to your environment or circumstances.

 

Extended family relationships can be complicated, chaotic, messy, they can either feel like places of love, home, & community or places of negativity, discomfort, tension in communication, & insecurity. Or maybe (more likely) a combination! Because none of our families are perfect on this side of Heaven.

We may be facing or dreading…

• Unsolicited or passive aggressive comments from family & opinions about our decisions, parenting, bodies, etc.
• Political disagreements or differing values, maybe they don’t share your faith
• Feeling labeled, or having a hard time not reverting back to who we used to be as a child, & how we used to treat each other, even though we’ve since grown a lot
• Navigating personalities, drama, & relationships still in need of healing
• Judgement, criticism, comparison, competition, making jokes that are more jabs than jokes because our families know our vulnerabilities & we may have tolerated certain things for years
• Unrealistic or unmet expectations, or upended plans due to sickness or other reasons
• Hiding in the bathroom to just get a break…

 

We’re called to be a light — a woman who radiates the joy, peace & love of Christ. But we don’t become this woman without preparation, intentionality & asking God for the grace we need!

 

We can’t control other people or all our circumstances but we don’t have to be a victim & absorb negativity, let it drain & deplete us, or steal our joy; we can take responsibility for our own actions & start changing the culture around us, beginning with who we are.

May this help you bless those around you even more fully this Christmas, and continue breaking down those barriers standing in the way of the peace the Lord wants to bring you this season.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

 

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Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

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