Hey New Life! Christmas is just around the corner! As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Granted, that’s a rather broad statement to make. It sorta places us all in the same category. Makes us all out to be a people full of Christmas cheer. Unfortunately, this isn’t true for ALL of us. In fact, the holiday seasons can be rather difficult for some.
I have many fond memories of Christmas. I remember BIG Thanksgiving dinners. I remember playing board games. I remember opening presents. I remember the joy of eating with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents…the ENTIRE family. I also remember the first Thanksgiving and Christmas spent as little family cell groups, no longer gathering together, but divided because grandma died. I also remember receiving the news that my dad had died just weeks before Christmas.
Good.
Bad.
Life.
We are shaped by our experiences. Memories of the past guard our actions in the present and typically determine our future. We hesitate to trust. We shy away from opening our hearts. We pray for the seasons to pass quickly. We dare not stir up old memories. We dare not rekindle the pain. We refuse to let go. We wonder why nobody cares, why nobody calls…yet we isolate and dare not answer the phone.
This WAS me. I remember saying things like “I hate Christmas” or “I don’t care about the holidays.” I was cold. I had turned my back on any remote sense of joy or cheer. I allowed my past hurts to undermine any possibly of future happiness. I CHOSE to clothe myself in depression.
I had no hope.
Therein lays the key to the holidays: HOPE. I lacked any sense of hope. I was surrounded by family. I had the opportunity to experience all the joy of big meals and presents, but I chose to wallow in my hurts. It sucked! But here’s the deal, that all changed for me when I realized what the seasons were all about. When I realized what THANKSGIVING actually was! When I realized what CHRISTMAS was all about!
The memories that once brought darkness, depression, and tears now brought joy because I was reminded of the GOOD times and no longer focused on the pain of the bad. I learned to be THANKFUL for the time I had with my grandma, with my dad. I learned that true story of Christmas is a story of redemption and reconciliation. It’s about HOPE and LOVE. It’s about GRACE and MERCY.
I’ve learned to find joy.
Granted, I still struggle from time to time with the holidays. I still cry when I think about my grandma, my dad…even how little time I’m afforded to spend with my brother, my sister, my LIVING family. The difference now is that I don’t STAY there. I no longer dwell in the dark, but run to the light. I remember that I have EVERYTHING I could ever want or need in Jesus. I have PEACE.
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled
everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT
If you struggle with the holiday seasons, if Thanksgiving and Christmas are merely triggers for painful memories, know that my prayer is that too will find PEACE.
I have many fond memories of Christmas. I remember BIG Thanksgiving dinners. I remember playing board games. I remember opening presents. I remember the joy of eating with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents…the ENTIRE family. I also remember the first Thanksgiving and Christmas spent as little family cell groups, no longer gathering together, but divided because grandma died. I also remember receiving the news that my dad had died just weeks before Christmas.
Good.
Bad.
Life.
We are shaped by our experiences. Memories of the past guard our actions in the present and typically determine our future. We hesitate to trust. We shy away from opening our hearts. We pray for the seasons to pass quickly. We dare not stir up old memories. We dare not rekindle the pain. We refuse to let go. We wonder why nobody cares, why nobody calls…yet we isolate and dare not answer the phone.
This WAS me. I remember saying things like “I hate Christmas” or “I don’t care about the holidays.” I was cold. I had turned my back on any remote sense of joy or cheer. I allowed my past hurts to undermine any possibly of future happiness. I CHOSE to clothe myself in depression.
I had no hope.
Therein lays the key to the holidays: HOPE. I lacked any sense of hope. I was surrounded by family. I had the opportunity to experience all the joy of big meals and presents, but I chose to wallow in my hurts. It sucked! But here’s the deal, that all changed for me when I realized what the seasons were all about. When I realized what THANKSGIVING actually was! When I realized what CHRISTMAS was all about!
The memories that once brought darkness, depression, and tears now brought joy because I was reminded of the GOOD times and no longer focused on the pain of the bad. I learned to be THANKFUL for the time I had with my grandma, with my dad. I learned that true story of Christmas is a story of redemption and reconciliation. It’s about HOPE and LOVE. It’s about GRACE and MERCY.
I’ve learned to find joy.
Granted, I still struggle from time to time with the holidays. I still cry when I think about my grandma, my dad…even how little time I’m afforded to spend with my brother, my sister, my LIVING family. The difference now is that I don’t STAY there. I no longer dwell in the dark, but run to the light. I remember that I have EVERYTHING I could ever want or need in Jesus. I have PEACE.
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled
everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT
If you struggle with the holiday seasons, if Thanksgiving and Christmas are merely triggers for painful memories, know that my prayer is that too will find PEACE.
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