[caption id="attachment_2921" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://thehappinessbucket.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/army-holiday.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2921" src="https://thehappinessbucket.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/army-holiday.jpg?w=300" alt="Photo Compliments of  www.army.mil " width="300" height="199" /></a> Photo Compliments of www.army.mil[/caption]

As we enter this holiday season I want to encourage everyone to hold onto their joy. With all the hustle and bustle, stress levels tend to get higher than normal and by mid-month as you have gone to one too many holiday parties and the stress of purchasing that perfect gift starts to weigh on you…things can get out of control really quickly. I recently was on the receiving end of one such loss of joy and I tell ya your immediate desire is to just react, but I’m so happy that I didn't.

You see...on Monday, my mother and I decided to have a mother daughter shopping day. All had been going really well, until a lady who had let her joy fade lashed out at us in a parking lot with onslaught of cuss words.  In that moment, we had the choice of returning the favor and lashing back out at her, or to continue enjoying our day as though it never happened. My reaction was to ask my mom not to respond and then I busied myself in the car for a minute (looking for coupons) and said a few prayers in my head asking for peace and for God to control my response if we ran into the lady again in the store. We chose not to let that lady hijack our joy, but many people don’t. The truth is you never know why someone reacts to you the way they do and you can’t control it.  All you can do is control your behavior, so please remember this during this giving season - Give a smile instead of a frown, respond in love and not in anger, keep your Christmas joy and remember the reason for the season no matter how stressed you may become.  Just imagine how stressed/irritated God gets with us sometimes, what if he reacted by lashing out at us.  Just food for thought during this fabulous holiday season.

Happy Holidays!

PS: For all those serving in the military or who have served and their families, Thank you for your sacrifice!