December 19

I have all of Amy Grant’s Christmas albums. I love all of them, but have my favorite songs on each album. I listen to them each Christmas season. On her album she released last year she has a song called “Another Merry Christmas”. Some would say it was a depressing song, I say just a realistic one.  She sings “It’s happy and sad, the good and the bad, someone’s up and someone’s barely hanging on”. Everyone is supposed to be happy and joyful during the season, right? But the fact is we all can struggle and feel lonely or sad during the season. This past week a colleague at work committed suicide and it took us all by surprise. He was always so friendly, always had a smile and was so helpful. I feel like there is so much emotion wrapped up in the season that it magnifies everything. Never mind all the pressure we put on ourselves. It is easy to get lost and miss the true meaning of Christmas. I make it a point to read our Advent devotional and I really like the one this year that helps us to focus on others and turn away from some of our  own “busyness”. I will be honest, I am in one of those years where I am just trying to make it through the season. My tree has been standing in my house bare for a week. I am trying to hang the ornaments in between writing this, not really too excited about it. But then I found this picture that I took last year of my spot on the tree where I hang all the  nativities with angels surrounding them. Some of the angels and nativities are from my Mom and Dad’s tree when I grew up. I also have the three wise men from them, that I am sure were inexpensive ornaments bought in some department store a very long time ago, but I look forward to hanging them because they tell part of the Christmas story. Let me close with the last lines of the song, “Our painted old nativity is fragile like the lives we lead, silently reminding me God is with us, another Merry Christmas”. 

Blessing and peace to you during this season!

Heavenly Father, help us to remember what this season is all about and be with those who are struggling, Send your comfort and strength to them and help us to reach out beyond ourselves. Amen.