Decorating for Christmas is both an exciting and exhausting process. Dawn and I have about 20 huge plastic tote buckets that need to be hauled up to the living level so Dawn can begin to sort out where she wants to put it all. It's exciting that Christmas is coming soon, and the house looks all festive at this time of year. Anticipating the parties and dinners and gatherings of family and friends is full of joy. The work that's required to get ready however, is often overwhelming. This can make Christmas a difficult season for some of us, especially if we are going through a tough time personally. The loss of a loved one can really spoil our mood. The first Christmas without a parent or spouse or child can be really hard. For some loneliness gets the best of them. Being young and having no one to share Christmas with can be especially challenging. And in this economy, the loss of a job is not only blow to one's self-esteem, it very often so negatively affects a family's own economy that it can have devastating effects.
That is why when we prepare for Christmas it is best to set aside our thoughts of our current situations and worries and turn to the true and original meaning of Christmas: God loves you! God loves us all so much, that he sent (gave up) his only Son to live among us and show us by his words and deeds how much God cares about us. No matter our circumstances, negative or positive, God is with us, God love us, and God wants the very best for us.
Because of Christmas, we all have hope. Because of Christmas we can face every circumstance as a hopeful situation where God can act in our lives and demonstrate his love and his power on our behalf.
I pray that as you prepare for Christmas this year, you will pause to reflect on God's goodness to you in the past, and use that as evidence that God will continue to act in your life and will help you come to know even more fully, how very much God does love you.
Merry Christmas!
Bruce
Friday, December 5, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
