They aren’t making it any easier, are they?
We made it through another Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and if you’re anything like me, you’re a little relieved to get back to work so you can, if not get a little rest, you can take the intensity of things down a notch.
Which is important, because the big whammy of Christmas is coming up, which means another round of doubt and stress. Am I spending too much? Where are we going to fit the tree? Can I convince the family to clear out a trunkful of space to make room for the influx of presents? Am I getting too old to climb the ladder and hang the lights?
Modern media likes to hang all of the holiday preparations on the women in our lives, but readers of this blog all know who is the real workhorse of family life. We know who is the silent powerhouse of the family, the one who takes on invisible burdens to ensure that their children grow up in the hazy glow of pleasant memories. As adults, the punctuated moments of surprise and merriment will fade, replaced by a hazy sensation of contented satisfaction. If we do our jobs right, those feeling will translate into a desire to provide the same feelings for your grandchildren.
This past weekend, we were reminded to spend a little more than we have, to enjoy God’s bounty, and to reflect on how fortunate we are to have a bounty to share. It’s getting harder to do that these days, rules as we are by men and women and foreign agents who hate all that we are and all that we do. Which makes weekends like this one past all the more important. Despite our struggles, we have much to be grateful for, chief among them our struggles themselves.
By taking on the burden of working a little harder to make your family’s celebrations a little happier, you are walking in the steps of Saint Joseph. His own life was not an easy one, but his quiet strength serves as an example to us all. As the silent partner and protector of Mary and the Christ-child, he bore the same burdens we do. And in his way, in our way, he shared in the burden of Christ’s cross. He did this not for himself but for the sake of his wife and child, and your own family work is an echo of his.
You’re doing good work out there, brothers. It may seems like the people in your life don’t see it, or don’t fully appreciate how heavy the lift is in these later days of the Pax Americana, but your brothers do. We know what you’re going through. And we know you’re strong enough to continue doing the heavy lifting until you reach the Four Laet things
I don’t know who needs to hear it, but you’re doing better than you think. They may not say it, or even show it, but the people in your life can feel it. And it’s making a difference in this world.