Look Closer
Christmas brings me joy! In fact, there’s not much about the holiday that I don’t like.
I love the music: the classics, the pop hits, and the silly ones, too.
I love the movies both old and new and yes even the Hallmark ones.
I love the ugly sweaters and the matching pjs.
I love white lights and brightly colored ones.
I love a party anytime of the year, but especially at Christmas, probably because that’s how my family has celebrated the holiday for as long as I can remember.
I love crazy family games and sentimental stories.
And if the 9 trees in my house are any indication, I love decorating the tree and making the house feel festive.
I love the magic of Christmas and do my part to contribute.
To me, Christmas sparkles…and I loooove a good sparkle!
As a professed perfectionist, I always want Christmas to be picture perfect. I put lots of effort into making things just right; I guess I get it honestly from my mom. But if you zoom out from my picture-perfect Christmas, you’ll find that my picture has some corners that are bent and some smudges across the middle and even some heaviness lurking in the shadows.
I have the typical relatives who are struggling to get along.
I have a house that desperately needs to be cleaned; we’ll just add it to my already long last minute to do list.
I have a niece who’s spending her very first Christmas in Heaven. It’s hard to explain how you miss someone you never got to meet in person, but her absence is felt deeply this year.
And just this week, I had to make an impromptu trip to admit my dad into hospice care.
Perhaps, you can relate…
It’s said that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but for many, it’s anything but wonderful. I’ve heard several people say, “Christmas doesn’t feel right this year…”
Have you found yourself saying that or maybe just thinking it to yourself?
Maybe you’re missing someone special…they passed away or a relationship ended…
Maybe you can’t travel home to be with family or family can’t travel to you…
Maybe you can’t find that gift you’ve been searching for…
Maybe the Christmas fund wasn’t as deep or was pretty much empty this year...
We all have things that dampen our spirits and threaten to steal our joy if we choose to focus on the less than perfect or what’s missing.
One of my favorite Christmas decorations is a nativity. I love to see all the varied styles from the ornate to the simple and everything in between. Each one perfectly designed and each one portraying the most perfect night on earth. Well, not really…it wasn’t that perfect after all.
The birth of Jesus wasn’t in the best location.
There were families who weren’t getting along.
The conditions were less than ideal to say the least.
But if you zoom in, in the middle of that less than perfect situation, you find the greatest gift we’ve ever been given, and through Him, we can find great joy.
1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith…”
Joy in the middle of family drama…yes. Jesus knows how family can be, but He loves us all the same. See others as Jesus sees them.
Joy in the middle of Christmas chaos…yes. Jesus is calm in the midst of chaos, and He will give you peace. Find rest in Him.
Joy in the middle of sorrow and heartache…yes. Jesus is always near, but He scoots in extra close when our hearts are hurting. Find comfort in Him.
Joy in the middle of difficult situations…yes. Jesus is an ever-present help in a time of trouble, and He will provide for you. Trust in Him.
May you look for JOY this Christmas season, and may you find it right in the middle of wherever you are!
Romans 15:13: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
