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Amy Van Slambrook

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My (very personal) Christmas Letter to all of you…

December 23, 2016 by Amy 21 Comments

I am a pretty private person.   I was raised in a home that was more English than exhibitionist, more dignified discretion of Downton Abbey than clandestine candor of the Kardashians.  Yet I’ve been reminded that being real allows relatability and that even though I may suffer from the “impostor syndrome” at times, it’s in the very revealing of that fact, that I allow you to hear me, to know my heart and know that I’m real, authentic, and very much a work in progress.

Here’s some “realness” for you… I LOVE my family (including my four-legged baby).  I LOVE to travel to Europe and far away places (and I would pay someone to pack for me!).  I love fresh flowers, Cartier, Adelle and Diana Krall (in part because I can “sing” along with them), and Target.  I love Coke Zero (my one vice…does it count that I don’t eat sugar or processed food or any “whites”?!) and sashimi (although not together!); have completely regrettable arguments with my mom, stay up too late, become mesmerized by Amazon or my FB Feed (and Pinterest is a guilty pleasure).  The idea of cuddling up on a snowy day with a Jane Austen novel in one hand, and a steamy cup of hot cocoa in the other, is absolute heaven to me (not that it happens all that often here in…Florida ).   I am just a 40-something girl, who’s a hopeless romantic, and, a hopeful, healed soul who is in constant need of patience, love (and the occasional mani-pedi) and God’s grace…which leads to my biggest love — God and Jesus and everything connected with them, truly, even though I’ve done everything possible to resist it, run from it and reject it.

I, very occasionally, lose my temper and my keys (usually in reverse order) and, for a brief period many years ago in my 20’s,  I lost my mind and heart.  I definitely lost my way, and so I say with great authority that recovering lost souls and reconnecting them with love is something I know because I found it…scratch that.  “IT” found me.  LOVE found me and I know it to my core, because I truly was so lost that I almost got “found” in a nicely lined, rectangular box that would be cozily nestled 6 feet under.

If you don’t know it already, the best preparation for being a great therapist and coach is going through great therapy and coaching yourself (I’m forever indebted to mine!).  Which means, by definition, that one must have struggled and, candidly, been a great mess on some level and one who needed that help in the first place (at least that’s very true in my case)!  I was a mess and, on some level, I still am in my own ways that will perpetually leaving me frustratingly “messy”…aren’t we all?!  The journey to being healed and authentic, though, is worth every step.

But of any season, THIS season ..this Christmas season is all about being real, being passionately authentic in order to connect with life.  A manger?  How much more real, raw, humbling than that?  Stables with animals, let alone the messy, incomparably human experience of being born?!  Yet that’s how life and love connect:  That kind of authenticity is what breathes life into love and love into life.  That kind of complete, unconditional, warts-and-all acceptance is what it’s all about.

For me, that gets driven home most deeply into my “wish-I-wasn’t-so-messy” heart, in the Christmas story…God took on messiness to show us that He’s totally and completely okay with ours.  In fact, He wants it!  Like the early days of falling in love, where you long to see the reality of each other’s lives more — their sleepy face, their messy desk, their “ugly cry”, God actually feels that about us.  That kind of realness, authenticity, that child-like honesty (often with reckless abandon), is what God wants too, and why He sent His Son on Christmas to that messy manger in the first place…and it took me FOREVER to “get” that.  I still am trying to wrap my head around it.

As YOU try to wrap your head about any part of that, or any part of being loved authentically, whether you believe as I do or not is not at all for me to judge or push, and I know better than to try.  But during this glittery, glossy, wrapped-up-in-a-perfect-package holiday season, being authentic and showing the REAL you is one of the best gifts you can give to another, and to yourself…  Letting others know THEY can be real, too — whether the holidays are miserable, merry or mediocre.  It’s the gift of being vulnerable with one another.

Being vulnerable and allowing others to be real and vulnerable with you creates bonds. It’s the stuff that joins hearts.  If you’re missing love and connection in your life, start planting love and connection with others, which demands being authentic and real.  See where it leads.  It may be to the most beautiful messiness you’ve ever experienced.

Baby, it IS cold outside when we keep each other at the arm’s length yieled by falsely perfect, selfie ready, “Facebook-post” worthy lives!  Abundance, prosperity, rich and fulfilling relationships demand authenticity.  Nothing else satisfies.

For me, God showed me the total warmth, completely accepting love He has for me everyday by bringing His Son to that manger and this earth to LOVE ME even though I totally rejected Him many times and lived a life that didn’t reflect the relationship He wanted with me – –not  the rules of religion, but the nature of the relationship.  It doesn’t mean life becomes perfect, because it isn’t and I’m decidedly not at all.  It DOES mean I’m forever loved, pursued and I have totally perfect ability to love others and a secured place in heaven forever.   Pretty amazing Christmas gift.

In the same way, no matter where you are spiritually, even in the place of not associating that description with any part of your life, totally accepting and being accepted by those you love and like WILL help to make this truly the most wonderful time of year.

Blessings to you and yours this holiday season!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Happy New Year 2017 to all!  Each of you is a real gift to me!

Amy

Filed Under: Authenticity, Beliefs, Christmas, Holiday, journey, Relationships, Self Awareness, Uncategorized, Vulnerability

Comments

  1. Wendy Silette says

    December 23, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    Beautifully written, Amy. May you have a wonderful holiday and time spent with those you love.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:57 pm

      Happy Holidays Wendy! Thank you so very much. May your holidays be full of joy and love my friend. <3

      Reply
  2. Marcia Birmingham says

    December 23, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    Amy, so beautifully expressed! Merry Christmas my friend.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:56 pm

      Merry Christmas Marcia! Thank you so much…May you have His comfort this Christmas season. xo

      Reply
  3. Sandra Shadley says

    December 24, 2016 at 1:20 am

    Amy,what a gift you have of putting your thoughts so beautifully in words that others can read. Religion or being called religious is a term I very much dislike. I do not have a set of rules to live by,but try to live as Jesus taught,love your neighbor,which I have learned can only be shared when we know how to love ourselves in the same unconditional way that my God loves me. Merry Christmas and a great 2017. Tell your Mom and Dad hello and give them a hug for me when you see them next.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:55 pm

      Merry Christmas Sandy! Your words are a gift to me and you helped me see how great that relationship can be. I will pass along your wishes and please send ours to all of your family. We love you!

      Reply
  4. Liz says

    December 24, 2016 at 5:31 am

    Amy, wonderful! As Cloud and Townsend wrote in their book, How People Grow, “If people are feeling bad about themselves, the answer is never to get them to feel better about themselves…the answer is to have them feel connected to love. If they feel connected and accepted, they do not have to feel good about themselves.” Acceptance is the antidote to having to put on that happy face, whether privately to bolster ourselves, or publicly for the same reason. And, there is no greater love than Jesus. Thanks for a great post!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:54 pm

      SO well-expressed Liz! Thank you so much…Merry Christmas to you and yours!

      Reply
  5. ps says

    December 24, 2016 at 8:48 am

    Amy, this is “the stuff that joins hearts.” Ever thought about becoming a writer?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:52 pm

      Thank you Paul..that truly is my heart when I write. Will have to check into that writer idea. 😉 Merry Christmas to you and your family!

      Reply
  6. Rich Kesteloot says

    December 24, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    Well said! -Merry Christmas

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 24, 2016 at 5:51 pm

      Thank you so much Rich! Merry Christmas to all of you!

      Reply
  7. Marcia Leasher says

    December 24, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    Beautiful Amy! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 25, 2016 at 6:20 pm

      Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  8. Holly Finlay says

    December 24, 2016 at 11:56 pm

    Beautiful letter, Amy! It helped me to see that the messiness in the birth was God-directed and it had meaning I hadn’t thought of before. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 26, 2016 at 7:28 pm

      Thank you Holly! So much meaning in messiness as you have taught so many! <3

      Reply
  9. Katarina says

    December 25, 2016 at 9:44 am

    What wonderful words of encouragement!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 26, 2016 at 7:26 pm

      Thank you Katarina! <3 Always from my heart...

      Reply
  10. Maria Siracuse says

    December 25, 2016 at 1:53 pm

    Wow..so beautifully written and authentic. Tears were flowing while reading because it resonated with me on so many levels. You truly are a special person.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 26, 2016 at 7:06 pm

      Thank you Maria! Such kind, humbling words that mean the world. Tears were flowing as I wrote it as well…

      Reply
  11. Brian Nahas says

    April 22, 2017 at 5:56 am

    What a gift you are to so many. How beautiful your words are and your authentic self.
    May God continue to bless you with continued discernment and wisdom to make this messy life a more
    joyful journey.
    Your “Keepin’ it Real” Friend,
    Brian

    Reply

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Amy Van Slambrook, MA, LMHC

4933 Tamiami Trail North
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Naples, FL 34103


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