And I promise I will, because it is an important topic. But, quite frankly, I’ve had a lot of stuff going on in my life the last two weeks that has been very depleting. Don’t worry I am not looking for you to be my counselor or to send me warm and fuzzy encouragements. I just need to be real with you.

There is no point in putting up a facade. I could just keep putting up good content and sounding very knowledgeable and professional (which I think I am), but this week I felt like I needed to take a little different approach.

Last week I mentioned that I had just come through a really hard, really difficult day. And it was. Unfortunately, the week didn’t get a lot better. The day I released my blog another family who is very important to me experienced a significant loss. One that I could actually identify with very closely…too closely.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HAPPY HOLIDAYS?

And then, Sunday morning, I got some more really bad news about somebody else that I really care about. It really took the wind out of me. I wasn’t depressed or discouraged, but emotionally I was feeling kind of numb.

I’m sure you know what that feels like. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, almost everybody is dealing with something difficult. Sometimes it is strings of difficulty. When it happens right around holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas it is extra difficult.

We feel like these are supposed to be times of joy and celebration, which they are for a lot of people. But every year, for some people, they are times of deep pain and loss. Thankfully, time often heals those wounds.

But there is a medicine that helps speed up the healing process. When applied consistently, it has amazingly powerful effects. It doesn’t minimize the reality of the wound, but it overpowers it.

A BETTER MEDICINE

That medicine is an attitude of gratitude. When we are genuinely thankful for what we have, and allow our thoughts to dwell there, it is amazing what can happen.

But grief that lingers can turn to bitterness. And bitterness never helped anyone. Rather it has destroyed many people and many relationships.

Gratitude on the other hand, has almost nothing but positive effects.

This Christmas and New Years I am deeply grateful. I am grateful that my family and I will all be together. With a son who just got engaged last Friday, I am grateful for a new daughter joining our family. I am grateful that my family and I are all healthy. And, I am grateful that I get to do what I do every day.

Investing in leaders who are committed to growing themselves and others is my passion. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to invest in you.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you, and those close to you, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If this season is difficult for you, please accept my heartfelt sympathies. I would love the opportunity to pray for you, so let me know how I could do that by entering a comment below or sending me an email.

Question: What are you grateful for at this time of year?

Seize the day!