A Silent Night: When everything isn’t merry and bright.

Merry Christmas!!

...but what happens when your Christmas isn't so "Merry and Bright"?

What happens when the day feels more dark and cold? When the warmest greetings from those near and far barely make a dent in the overwhelming sadness of your season?

Maybe you lost your job.

Maybe you lost your child.

Maybe your years have slowly evolved into a complacency and acceptance for a mediocre life that pales in comparison to the glitz and glamour of the season.

Somehow the shimmer and glimmer abounding all around can’t penetrate through the overwhelm and disenchantment you are struggling through. Unmet expectations. Dashed dreams. Relentless racing in the pursuit of that which does not, and cannot, deliver what it promises.

Maybe it all just feels too much.

Too many presents, not enough presence.

Too much food, and not enough fill.

Too many expectations, not enough acceptance.

Just too, too much.

The enthusiasm of those around you only makes you feel ever-more inferior... all the pictures, all the posts, the endless texts...

“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just clear out this feeling of sadness? This weight of gloom? Everyone else is just moving along with joy and delight…and I’m sitting here. Alone. In a room full of people.”

What then?

Then you remember the reason we celebrate this holiday as a holy remembrance in our faith.

You remember that Jesus did not arrive in a palace, immaculately decorated and decked-to-the-halls.

No, he arrived through the painful and laborious efforts of a teenage girl.

He did not feast on extravagant tables of well-crafted food, but rather at the breast of a humble mother.

He did not send greeting cards and make a lot of noise.

That night...was a silent night.

And though there may not be joy in your Christmas this year, maybe- just maybe- there is space for stillness.

A silent night.

Our savior weeps when we weep, and rejoices when we rejoice. He loves us so perfectly he didn't care no one made room for him...

He came anyway.

To save us all.

May you have a holy Christmas, merry or not.

And if you need someone to talk to during this time, don’t hesitate to reach out!