The Christmas Season can be a painful season for some of us. Isn’t it ironic? Celebrating the birth of “the Light of the world” is often a time when the darkest places of our minds haunt us.
Loss, unmet expectations, fractured family relations, empty bank accounts, stress, personal regrets and failure…all these and more try to reach out and steal our joy.
As I woke this morning, I felt emotionally exhausted and longing for more rest. A flashback from the dreams I’d had last night brought to my attention that it was the 3rd night in a row filled with nightmares of cancer, sorrow, trauma and the loss of my late husband.
After all these years, with an incredible new husband and a home full of love and happiness, why would those memories resurface so clearly? And why during the Christmas season?
Well, there are some obvious reasons…like family traditions and the desire to be surrounded by people we love while we celebrate and give gifts. But what if there’s more to it?
I think there is.
You see, God’s Light exposes darkness. And without darkness, there would have been no need for Jesus to come to earth.
In other words; without sin, there would be no Christmas.
So there it is… the celebration of God’s restoration for humanity also serves as a reminder of why we so desperately need His restoration.
Letting all those dark places come to the Light of Jesus can be painful and scary. It takes trust in our loving God to allow the things we stuff deep inside to be pulled out. Much like a small child fiercely holding their hand over a scrape on their knee; sometimes we hold our hurts tightly and cover them up, thinking we can simply wish the pain away.
But God, like a loving parent, gently coaxes us to let go…to let Him expose it, so He can bandage and heal our damaged parts.
This Christmas, let’s include the messy parts of life in our celebration. Let’s be transparent with each other so we can encourage and pray together. Let’s bring it all to God and start the process of renewing our minds and being healed. It might take courage. It might take a longer than we’d like. It might even feel more painful at first. But it’s so, so worth it!
John 12:46 I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
Great post! Christmas can be a bummer. :(
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Yes, Christmas can be hard! I haven't had one that was pain-free since 2011. However, pain sharpens the feelings of joy.
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Darkness is the absence of Light..or so they say. In a world so full of darkness, there is HOPE brought by the LIGHT.
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I would rather celebrate the gift of Life without the Christmas trimmings. I find it has too many ties to unmet needs, high expectations, debt, etc. Even though I enjoy the lights and sounds and smells, I find Christmas really difficult.
As a young mom it was fine - a lot of stress and exhaustion to get things just so but now as an older person, I am less enthralled.
I can be transparent - I am too much so actually, but transparency and authenticity only really work when others are non judgemental and accepting.
I dream of that one day.
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I, too, am a fairly transparent person. I agree that it's helpful when others are non-judgmental. But I just go ahead and be myself even when they are not. LOL Makes for some interesting conversations!
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Good thoughts. Helpful to pause and reflect in the midst of this season that can bring up lots of memories, good and painful
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