If All You Did Was Show Up This Year, It's Enough

If All You Did Was Show Up This Year, It’s Enough

3 Minute Read

Woman in holiday sweater standing at window looking out

RVStock/Shutterstock.com

I usually love sending and receiving Christmas cards, but this year feels different. This year has been a lot. And try as I might, I just can’t get myself into the Christmas letter-writing spirit.

The truth is, if I sent you a Christmas card this year, I would tell you this is a show up year, not a glow up year. Glow up years are easy to share. They sparkle with big smiles, shiny newness, and perfectly worded narratives. There are beautiful photos, matching outfits, and applause-worthy accomplishments. And don’t get me wrong—I’ve had my fair share of those years, and they’re wonderful. But this year? This year is different.

This year is definitely a show up year.

A show up year is a bit like training for a marathon—one that isn’t captured in bright photos on glossy holiday cardstock. It’s the work done behind the scenes when no one is looking. And yet, it’s still worthy of recognition. The kind of recognition that doesn’t come from little hearts on a screen. It’s the kind that comes from within, knowing you’re showing up for yourself and for your family, even when life is hard.

A show up year isn’t glamorous. In fact, it can be downright gritty. It’s waking up early to finish that last college assignment before winter break. It’s praying through pain and showing up at work when life feels heavy. It’s taking on a second job or waiting on medical test results. It’s laying a loved one to rest, then getting out of bed every day after. It’s going to therapy, showing up at church, and driving your kids all over town for sports. It’s choosing to spend time with your family, even when all you want is a silent night to binge-watch your favorite show in peace. These tiny defining moments never make it onto a Christmas card, but I wish they did. Maybe then, we would all feel a little less alone in the struggle.

Do you know who seems to show up the most during a show up year? God. He shows up over and over again. When patience runs dry, when your heart is too weary to keep going, He’s there. He shows up in ways you least expect. He brings strength and peace when you think you can’t manage one more broken thing. He puts the right people at the right time in your path.

After making it through this year, I’ve decided my motto in the next chapter will be “show up until you glow up.” I’m truly hoping next year will be a little more sparkly. Maybe there will even be a year in the future with enough mama energy left over for a styled Christmas card sent from my mailbox to yours.

But for now, I am at peace with this season. Through the quiet and the hard places, I know the challenges I faced this year are shaping my small part of the story into the greater plan. I plan to keep showing up one day at a time and I have evidence to believe that God will too.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Taylor Hagemeyer

Taylor Hagemeyer goes by both “mama” and “Mrs. H.” She has a husband who loves her like Jesus does. She was blessed to have both a daughter and a son. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood special education and is a pre-kindergarten teacher in a small town in Nebraska. She believes play is the way to all learning. She is a children’s book author who wants the world to be a kinder place. You can find “Things That Rhyme With Autism,” a book she wrote for her students, on Amazon. You can also follow along on Facebook- Grow Home With Me and Instagram- @growhomewithme for more writing, play ideas and peeks of her succulent garden.