It meant a lot of things, to a lot of different people.
It came in a lot of different ways, to so many people.
And, the day came, no matter what was going on in every person's life.
Here, I am, a day after Christmas.
I am 20 years old, and not once in my life has Christmas meant what it has this year.
Every year we are confronted with church service after church service, telling us, "Christmas isn't about gifts, it's about the birth of Jesus, and all He represents." We all nod in enthusiastic agreement, and consciously we completely agree--as I have the past years of my life, (at least the one's I was actually old enough to agree haha)
In the months leading up to this Christmas, my family has been confronted with quite the crisis.
We have found ourselves, solely only having one another.
Being stripped of all "friends" we knew....in the most literal sense.
Last week, in the midst of one of my weekly "breakdowns" as the family has come to call them.
You know? That sudden realization of the entirety of the situation--the comforting the family member who is mourning on that particular day, unable to stand against the heaviness of the situation.
I just didn't have the usual "Christmas" excitement, that usually begins to happen weeks before the big day.
All, I could feel was sadness, and honestly not much hope.
I felt God begin to ask me though, "what is Christmas, when all the "feelings" are stripped away?"
I began to say to myself, all I've heard my whole life; "this is the season where the love, and more importantly the hope of who Jesus is, is characterized." It hit me, that in all times of the year that this crisis could happen, this really is the most perfect time. What we need the most? Hope. Is the thing most emphasized about Jesus right now.
So, Merry Christmas...coming, from the girl who thought she had clung onto "hope" in the past,
but is realizing I am just beginning to grasp what HOPE is really all about.
Learning to release the ones, who don't know better, we are all mearly human.
Learning to bless those who curse....when my life really depends on it.
Learning to pick up, and keep climbing, keep pursuing,
and keep hoping.
My family may not have the natural comfort of having friends stand with us,
but one thing we do have is Heaven standing behind us, fighting for us, backing us,
beckoning each of us to continue in our dreams, to fight the good fight.
What is life if you don't have to fight at some point?
When courage isn't called upon?
In the midst of crisis, He shines even greater.
That I am daily thankful for.
On closing, in the words of the Queen of England,
"We've seen that it's in hardship that we often find strength from our families; it's in adversity that new friendships are sometimes formed; and it's in a crisis that communities break down barriers and bind together to help one another.
Families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. Indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit."
To courage...to new friendships, and most of all to HOPE, and all that He entails.
Peace. Love. Joy.
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