God bless us. Everyone. This one and only Christmas.

I’m in Idaho with family. Mother. Sister. Stepson, his wife and seven–you read it right–seven children! Uneventful travel, last minute gift orders on Amazon and Dutch Bros coffee means all is calm, all is bright. (The family is worth the trip but let me just say, if they weren’t here, I might still travel across the country for a cuppa the Dutch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=zdIbxMddjHM)

We worry about our clients this time of year. More importantly, we worry about their children. We know it’s a hard time of year. And we very much hope, for those who are separated or in the middle of a divorce, that they are able to shelve their fears and anger and hurt just for the moment. The moment when their children are creating memories of the Christmas when they were 3 or 7 or 15. It is the one and only Christmas they will experience at that age. Is it possible their parents can be together, delighting in the mayhem and merriment which is Christmas morning? Is there a way that their parents can honor that, in their chldren, resides a bit of the other parent–in their smile or mannerisms or sense of humor? Can those parents rest in the assurance, if only for this season, that it will–it will–turn out alright in the end and just allow for all to be calm, all to be bright for their children?

We don’t speak abstractly. Everyone that works in our office has talked about our own children this holiday season and how other parents will be accommodated. We know it’s not easy. We also have children–from the age of 2 to adulthood. So this is a message for us too because we’ve seen up close and real with some of our clients just how contentious it can be.

We are thinking about all of the people we have the privilege to serve and just want to say, God bless you, us, our kids. Everyone.

Wishing you wisdom,