Christmastime is Here!

December 24, 2013

Christmastime is Here!

My Grandma Foster made a beautiful Nativity...here, the condensed version.

It's Christmas Eve, and I wanted to wish you a joy-filled, peaceful Christmas. Whether you're in a home full of friends and family or keeping Christmas on your own, know that you are loved and cherished - amidst the noise and chaos, in the quiet solitude, or somewhere in between.

If you turn a gingerbread man upside down, you can make a reindeer.

If Christmas for you is easy and fun, something you look forward to with anticipation, then embrace this time of celebration and joy. There are stories everywhere that brighten our days - families reunited, strangers who give generous gifts to those in need, children who teach us all about joy and gratitude, people who are healed in many different ways. Those stories can give us hope, make us smile and fill us with happiness. There are songs to sing, people to hug, cookies to bake and gifts to share.

But if Christmas challenges your soul, if it leaves you sad or lonesome, please know you're not the only one who feels that way this time of year. Sometimes, the very same happy-ending stories serve to remind us of family that's far away. We may feel that we lack in some way. We may miss those who are not home for Christmas....some of them will never come home again. At a time when it feels like everyone is happy and celebrating, it's easy to feel lost and alone. It's easy to feel forgotten.

Not every Christmas is picture-perfect, just like not every Tuesday is picture-perfect. We all experience good times and bad. We all have seasons of our lives that we'd just as soon forget, as well as seasons of joy and happiness we'd like to hold onto forever. Whatever the circumstance of this Christmas, may you sense God's presence, and that he loves us in ways we cannot begin to comprehend. May we all be hope-filled and humbled by his love and grace as we contemplate Emmanuel - God with us.