GREYHAIRLADYSPEAKSOUT

The Holidays Are Coming…Brace Yourself

Ah, the holidays, when the cookies are sweet, the pumpkin pie is steaming, the turkey is golden, the lights are twinkling, and family conversations can test even the patience of a saint. It’s the season when we’re reminded, sometimes with a laugh, sometimes with a sigh, and sometimes by whispering a quick prayer of simply “Jesus, help me,” that unconditional love is not just a nice idea, it’s often required for survival.

Reflections from 50 Years of Life

As we step into this holiday season, a time full of family, friends, celebration, and yes, sometimes political debates that could make a monk break a sweat! I’ve found myself reflecting on what 48–50 years of adult life and what it has taught me about love, loss, resilience, and grace.

So much has woven itself into my story: the joys, the challenges, and yes, the messy, unexpected twists. There was young love, building a family, divorce, and learning to start over. There were moments when raising and supporting two daughters felt like trying to solve a puzzle with pieces that kept changing shape, some days I was the confused puzzle master, other days the janitor cleaning up the pieces. From babies to toddlers, tweens to teens, and now their grown women carving their own paths. More times than I can count, life has left my head spinning.

The Thread That Holds Everything Together

I’ve shed tears over fears that I wasn’t enough, over questions about whether I was doing a good enough job. And yet, through every misstep, misunderstanding, and clash of pride or ego, there’s one thread that has quietly held everything together: first as a mom the unconditional love, and then glimpses of it now in those children as grown women. Even when my patience was thinner than a Christmas cookie wafer, love persisted, reminding me that Jesus’ love works in the same steady, persistent way, showing up even when we’re a little burnt around the edges.

Patience, Presence, and Pie

This love is patient and enduring. It’s the quiet, steady force that doesn’t vanish when the world feels unkind or when someone forgets to do the dishes for the hundredth time. It doesn’t depend on actions, perfection, or reciprocation. It’s the kind of love a mamma pulls from the corners of her heart, even when it feels messy, inconvenient, or downright impossible. It bends without breaking.

It’s shown more in presence than words, in the small, unseen acts of kindness that leave hearts feeling known and safe, like sneaking a piece of chocolate to the teen who swears she’s “not hungry” or letting a toddler “help” frost the cookies.

Forgiveness and Faith

Unconditional love is also forgiving. It releases resentment and anger, recognizing that clinging to judgment diminishes its power. Often, we learn this lesson long after it is first needed and teaching it, especially through faith, can feel like trying to catch sunlight in your hands. Yet when we do, even in small glimpses, it mirrors the divine love of Jesus that moves through the universe: limitless, unwavering, and ever-renewing. It’s a love that shows up for the messy, imperfect, sometimes cranky humans in our lives, including ourselves.

Miracles in the Mess

Even when roles change, when hearts are tested, or when trust is fragile, this love persists. It nurtures, it transforms, and it creates space for grace and belonging. To live in the presence of unconditional love is to know freedom, to feel lightened by forgiveness, and to witness the quiet miracles that appear when hearts choose compassion over pride. Sometimes those miracles are big, a healed rift, a meaningful conversation. Sometimes they’re small, a smile, a hug, a whispered “I love you,” even in the middle of chaos.

Keep Love at the Center

As the holidays approach, I’m reminded to keep this love at the center, playful, patient, and full of faith. To lean on Jesus, who modeled this love perfectly, especially when life is messy, hectic, or overflowing with pies, cookies, and opinions. May this love soften hearts, heal divides, and illuminate our homes with the warmth of presence, kindness, and joy, and maybe even a little laughter when the turkey is late, the lights won’t work, or the kids insist on singing the wrong words.

May this season remind us that love doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. May laughter and grace fill our homes, and may we lean on Jesus’ example, showing patience, kindness, and forgiveness, even when the cookies are burnt, the turkey is late, or the kids are singing off-key. Let your heart be full, your table be joyful, and your spirit be at peace, knowing that unconditional love, divine and human, can carry us through any holiday chaos.

With love and faith,
Marie