Santa is coming!!
Santa is coming!!
Over the next few weeks we will all be
shopping for gifts under the tree, attending work Christmas parties and getting
ready for round 2 of family visits!
For some, this time of year can be especially hard. If
you’ve lost a loved one during the holiday season, have bad memories from your
childhood around Christmas or have struggled with loneliness, this time of year
can be very difficult. Instead of excitedly counting down the days until
Christmas, some people are counting down the days until it’s over.
For me, I am a Christmas fanatic. I absolutely love the
holiday season! I love it so much that our yearly tradition for the past decade
has been to put up and decorate our Christmas tree on Halloween. Yep. That’s
right. I said Halloween (my husband clearly loves me!). I love the ambiance of
the tree in the house, the twinkling lights, the ornaments that hold cherished
memories of special places and times. I enjoy the hustle & bustle of the
holiday season, the Christmas music, the shopping, and just the overall feel
that the season brings.
Although I have a deep love for everything Christmas, it
doesn’t mean that I haven’t experienced heartache and tough times during this
time of year. I have had deep loss during the holiday season. I have grieved
the loss of one of my best friends from cancer during this time of year. I
helped to bury one of my friend’s children after a tragic death, and I myself
lost a baby just before Christmas a few years ago. The holidays can be very
difficult for people that have experienced such great pain.
During the holiday season, although I’ve experienced deep
loss and I’ve wrestled with grief, I choose to focus on the reason for the
season….. I choose to focus on what the Christmas holiday is all about, which,
to me, is the birth of Jesus. It’s really easy to focus on our circumstance and
our situation and, when we do that, it can make life very overwhelming but when
we take our eyes off our problems and focus on the one true person that can
give us hope, it can make an unbearable holiday season one to remember.
What if, this Christmas season, you pay it forward to
someone that needs some of that hope and encouragement in their life? What if, this Christmas, instead of anticipating the dread of
a busy schedule or the stress of credit card debt, what if we took the time to
encourage someone that is struggling and share the hope of Christmas with them.
This pay it forward project doesn’t cost any money. It doesn’t involve scissors
and paper or crafts and confetti. This pay it forward project is as easy as
being a listening ear and encouraging someone that may be struggling.
To me,
the hope that lies in a manger at Christmas is the hope that gets me through
tough times. To you, your hope may look different. This week, let’s share our
hope with others and make this Christmas season a brighter, more cheerful one
for someone in need.
Happy paying it forward friends & Merry Christmas!
xoxo,
Brenda
No comments:
Post a Comment