Tonight’s post will not be a lengthy one. Instead, I hope it is but a short reminder that we all joy differently. Let me give you an example…

The way that my sister, the extrovert extraordinaire, shows holiday joy is wig wearing. All the wigs. And all of the costumes. She is an elementary school principal and cannot contain her love for people and a good time. If you have a tambourine at your party, she is likely to shut the place down.

My many attempts to define my I or E on the Meyer’s Briggs Type Inventory has yet to yield a clear result. Every time I take it, from high school to more recent years, I sit directly in the middle. More often than not, I lean a little to the introvert side. I love to talk on a deep, relational level with people. But I can’t stand surface for the sake of chit-chat. That makes me a less than stellar date to the party. And if I don’t really know the other guests, beware. I will need a full 24 hours to recover.

I say all of this to remind us to be gracious. The next 5 days will be filled with so many people. Many of them may find joy in the family dinner. Some of them will even look forward to the work holiday party. And yet there are others that are worn out at the thought of what to wear. To all of my introverts, may we have good boundaries. May we refuel as we need to. And may we all remember that however we are wired, there is a place for us. It just may not be as the hostess. KNOWING OUR PLACE IS JOY!