I write this morning about something that we often do not think about during the holiday season. Though the world goes about shopping, singing and making merry, there are those who weep. The holidays can be terribly lonely for some. I have experience with loss of family members before or just after Christmas. It can be a very difficult time to work through. Many families are separated from loved ones for different reasons, but their absence leaves an empty chair as well.
I was probably in my late fifties before I realized that even with loss and separation we can still rejoice. We can still celebrate. My first thought? It is because of Christmas, those who have died in Christ…Live! They are celebrating with the honoree of this big party called Christmas. That is so wonderfully comforting to know. Our loved ones have left us for a time, but there will be a reunion and a time for eternal visits with no more sickness or death.
God is also available to those who are missing family members for many reasons other than death. He hears your prayers, He knows the loneliness that covers you during holidays, especially Christmas. We pray that an end comes to separation and reunion occurs for those families as well.
It is often hard for family and friends to approach us about that missing chair at our tables. They truly do not know what to say. I have been there myself. At the same time it is healing to speak the name of that loved one. They were important in our lives and are terribly missed, especially at the holidays. Talking about their contribution to our lives and our holidays is a good thing.
The mother of one of my cousins has been gone sixteen years. She is missing the many candies her mom made during this season. We miss their laughter, their smiles, their sense of humor, their faith, their unending love, those many things they did to make our Christmas memorable. We even miss those things they did that once seemed a problem for us. If we have loved ones missing because of reasons other than death, we still experience separation anxiety and sadness at this time of year.
Let us celebrate this baby who came, grew to manhood and took the keys of death from the enemy. That is the reason for the season! Celebrate with joy!
Thought For Today:
We remember those who now reside with Jesus. I have often wondered what they would say if they could speak to us one more time, right now, in this season? I imagine that they would say something like this, “I miss you, but oh the beauty that surrounds me! The rainbow colors of Jesus and Father God surround me in love. I am young again, I am healed and perfect! I am happy and in a constant state of praise! All those who have gone before, pray you live your life to the fullest. Make new memories to blend with the old in the spirit of love, faith and giving. Celebrate the coming of our King in your world, while we look at His beautiful face here. It is because of Him…we live!”
Our tears are in a bottle caught by our Heavenly Father. He desires to care for us as we tarry here and most certainly is caring for those who have left us for heaven or are separated from us. It is time to celebrate the birth of Emanuel, God With Us. Let us spread that good news to all we meet and celebrate His coming to a lost world with an offering of eternal life, wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
Psalm 56:8-13
8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? 9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me. 10 In God (I will praise His word), In the Lord (I will praise His word), 11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, 13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God in the light of the living? (NKJV)
Prayer For Today:
Hello Father! Your word says that You know every tear that falls and You catch them! You walk especially close with us in our times of sorrow. Let us also remember that as You care for us here, You are also caring for those we loved who reside with You. Oh, Father let the comfort and the peace of that knowledge cover us this holiday season. Father, we ask that You comfort those who are unable to sit at our table this season. Enable us to rejoice, making new memories for our families. Father, we pray that we can show the young ones round about us that death and separation are not the end when we meet and receive Jesus…who once lay in a manger as a baby. I pray that You heal the broken hearts, heal sickness and bless this season. Help each of us see the blessings You have given us in the past and have prepared for our future. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
I’m so thankful that my children appreciate our heritage and the gifts that have been passed down through generations. It may be the beautiful pink bowl that my Grandmother Lewis sold garden seeds to acquire, or the pineapple salad that Mom made at Thanksgiving and Christmas which we enjoyed this year. Those reminders bring them back to us, if only for a moment. We cherish those moments and those memories and wonder what our children will appreciate from us in years to come. What a thought!
Such precious memories from the past. Odd, isn’t it that we often appreciate them more when the years have past then we did as we experienced them.
Thank you so much for this Kathy! I bawled the whole way through it, but it was worth it!
Thank you Stacy! God was placing you in my mind all the way through the writing. I know you are missing your husband. God knows that and I am so prayerful that He will resolve that for you and soon. I remembered a Thanksgiving shared with Aunt Mary and Andy when you were a baby. Best I recall your dad was a great cook as well.