Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Surviving the Holidays



Holidays are hard. Christmas music starts playing in stores the day after Halloween if not before. We are reminded constantly that Thanksgiving and Christmas are times for parties and celebrations. We are bombarded with the message that the only "right" way to celebrate the holidays is with a houseful of family and friends and that everyone comes home for the holidays because they want to.

But what if that cozy scenario is not your reality? What if your family is small or doesn't live close by?  What if you are estranged from what family you do have? What if you don't have the money to buy your children the "must have" gift of the season or possibly any gifts at all? What if you or a loved one is ill, physically or mentally? What if you've just gotten divorced? What if it's your first....or ninth Christmas without someone who left this world too soon?

I understand and respect the fact that people LOVE Christmas. I love Christmas, too. I love it because it brings out the best in people, most of the time. I love it because we celebrate Jesus, the one whom I strive to be more like every single day. I love it because the resurrection and the promise of eternity begins with His birth.

I don't love what we've made it.......spending too much money on things we don't need rather than ministering to the least of these. I don't love the fact that we have somehow made those who aren't "jolly" during the holidays to feel as though there is something wrong with them.

Whatever the reason you struggle during the holidays, I want you to know that it's OK. I hear you. I acknowledge and respect your pain. I want you to know that you are not alone, and most especially, I want to remind everyone else that you are important, too.

So, this year, while you are busy running from pillar to post, buying presents people don't need, decorating the perfect tree, and figuring out the next escapade of your Elf on the Shelf, remember those who are unable to "celebrate" the Holidays because they are too busy just trying to survive until they are over.




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