Christmas is a time of laughter, decorations, family outings, shopping, cooking, reflecting on the birth of Jesus, and so much more! We are supposed to be spreading Christmas cheer and everyone is expected to be happy, right?!
Wrong.
I enjoy the trimmings of Christmastide as much as the happiest elf. Yet just as sure as the snow falls across the north country in January, it’s okay to struggle at Christmas. For example…
- When our child with high-functioning autism melts down over the tiniest thing
- When I change the Christmas menu at the last minute to *easy* because I’m just that overwhelmed
- When all I want is the baby I lost
- When Christmas Day plans don’t work out at the last minute because of a vomiting child
- When my heart aches from so much loss in my own life, and in the lives of others close to me
Now those are just a few of the hurdles we’ve had to jump over during the past week. But your challenges are probably vastly different than mine. Yet your situation is no less significant.
Wading through challenges over Christmas is okay. Sharing our struggles with others is healthy, too. We should never be made to feel “less than” because our reality is different than someone else.
It’s easy to brush past people with the attitude of New Year’s cheer, telling everyone to be positive. But as we all know, so many people are hurting today.
We are often far too quick to dump religious platitudes or clinical pat answers on people. Why? Perhaps so we can stay on our journey of never being transparent. Or maybe we’re nervous about hearing the deep details of their stories. Still further, perhaps we’re scared we won’t have all the right answers, so we hurriedly shovel out our best stuff and run for cover.
so many…
crushing losses.
absent people…from distance and death
so much…
cancer.
abuse.
fear.
hunger.
war.
So, let this be the season of not only giving, but reaching out of our own circles into real relationships with people we don’t yet know. . . . people who aren’t like us, comfortable, or familiar, yet who need real, open, raw love.
So where do we discover the right pattern for this kind of living?
Jesus.
Jesus counseled the mourning, hurting, and confused. He cried with those who were weeping and was fully present in every moment. (John 4:7-26; 9:1-12; 11:23-38)
Jesus weathered interpersonal family tension and outright rejection in his hometown. (Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30; John 7:5)
Jesus knew the deep hurt of betrayal. One of his closest friends turned him in for a mere thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:1-6)
Jesus suffered through deep emotional grief and agony when approaching the hour of His trial and crucifixion. (Matthew 26:37-41; Mark 14:34-39; Luke 22:41-45)
Jesus experienced intense pain through the horrendously tortuous death on a cross. (John 19:1-30; Luke 23:22-38)
Jesus knows. As my pastor-husband often says, “Jesus knows everything about you – every word, thought, and action – and He still loves you.”
I’m so grateful for a Savior who can handle my hurting heart, my grief, my loneliness, and so much more. Leaning into the challenges and blustery winter’s wind is a journey of sanctification, of growth in Christ-likeness. By all Holy Spirit-empowered means, be joyful! But don’t forget we can have joy in Jesus and still weep with those who weep. An upside-down Christmas is no less a holiday. In fact, it may be nearer to the heart of the very One we’re celebrating…
Blessings,
Stephanie Anna
