Christmas never changes
because Christmas is Jesus
and Jesus
never
changes.
what changes is us.
we as human beings change
and the circumstances surrounding
change.
therefore our
perception of
Christmas can
change.
and no judgement
exists in this.
it simply is.
and Jesus pours grace
over the heart navigating
what is perhaps a Christmas first
without a parent or child or friend or
uncle or aunt or cousin or niece or nephew
or any other person.
or any other loss
of any type
of any size.
and for some this will be
a second or third or
fourth or fifth
or tenth
or twentieth
Christmas since
the day marking
life as before and after.
Jesus understands
that grief has no timeline.
He simply invites hearts
to the manger.
sit in His presence.
He knows every emotion
known to man not only
because He is the Creator
of all emotions, but also
because He lived with
our emotions.
He was fully human
yet fully God.
so in the silent
of silence,
talk or cry
or scream.
He will not run away.
He knows a chair is empty.
He knows a bed no longer
needs to be made.
He knows each light twinkling
and Christmas carol sung
will bring a flood of memories
sweeping over you like a
tidal wave.
He. knows.
He will give grace
for
the
moment.
and it really is okay
if Christmas looks a
little different this year!
our hope for today and
every day to come
lies in that manger.
not in decorations
or parties
or gifts
or anything else
we associate with Christmas.
so even if for a moment,
kneel at the manger
and give Christmas
back to the One
who
is
Christmas.
hope.
"a thrill of hope
a weary world rejoices
for yonder breaks a new
and glorious morn"
weary.
many words
describe this world,
but perhaps 'weary' best
encapsulates planet earth today.
oh the complexities of this world,
spinning in a galaxy among stars
too numerous to be numbered,
yet placed and named and known
individually by the Creator,
cannot be defined in
any single term,
yet weary seems
to fit.
and into the dark of night
in this world so weary, so lost,
heaven bent low as a baby was born.
and with that baby so human yet so divine
came
hope.
and is not hope something
we are a little short on today?
fear and division and anger and
pride and greed and pure evil such
as children trafficked and cities
obliterated by war and families
running
for
their
lives
and where is hope?
hope is here!
hope is closer than
your next breath and nearer
than your next heartbeat and hope never
fails
because hope is Jesus
and Jesus cannot fail.
so if we are to share hope
we must share Jesus.
and if we are to share Jesus
we must do more than talk.
and that is not to discount
the power of words.
yet words alone mean little
to the homeless one so cold, so hungry.
words alone cannot give the refugee
a home or rescue the one in slavery.
true hope lives in word and action.
and hope can also seem far away
to the one not homeless or cold
or hungry or a refugee or in slavery,
for hopelessness has no prerequisites.
and sometimes lack of hope can be
hidden beneath masks of 'all is well'
when the heart under the mask is
slowly
dying
with no hope.
for that heart so beautiful,
hope is here!
hope is Jesus!
hope is in the manger
which would become
a cross.
so never give up, hurting heart!
whether the hopelessness results
from loss of loved one or job or home
or any loss no matter the size,
or if your unique and priceless dna
is simply wired with that tendency for
depression and/or anxiety,
you are not alone.
hope has a name
and His name is Jesus.
and Jesus uses those who
know Him and understand the pain
to be His love
and
hope
made
touchable.
My child,
just for this moment.
just for this moment
I ask you to trust.
trust
in
Me.
in My faithfulness.
in My protection.
in My provision.
in My promises.
in My timing.
in My love.
I. will. never. let. go.
when you think I have stopped
listening,
come to the manger.
when you sense I have
abandoned you,
come to the manger.
when you feel that the very
ground underneath you
is no more than
shifting sand,
come to the manger.
kneel in the quiet of
that Bethlehem stable.
gaze at the newborn
lying in the manger.
My Son.
Jesus.
Immanuel.
God. with. us.
God. with. you.
because of His birth
and life
and death
and rising again,
you can know that
you know beyond
a shadow of doubt
that My love for you
is deeper and higher
and wider and longer
than your mind can even begin
to comprehend.
you are Mine and
I am yours.
so just for this moment,
I ask you to trust by falling
back into My arms.
I will take care of the
next moment and the moment
after that and so on and on and on.
because I love you.
your Abba Father
so what is a heart to do
after a loss so enormous?
how can a day such as
Thanksgiving be
survived
when
the
heart is grieving?
even though the heart may
indeed be thankful,
the day designated
to give thanks seems
a reminder just too
vivid that someone
or something is missing.
gone.
and the emptiness
can overwhelm.
perhaps your loss
is as recent as mere
days ago.
perhaps the reality
has not yet sunk in.
or perhaps your loss
was weeks, months, years,
even decades ago.
and the reality is all
too
real.
and the heart
still aches.
losses differ in size
and shape and color
and hue,
yet
no matter what,
the
pain
exists
and the hurt hurts.
and His words bring hope
to that heart so broken:
"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:29-31
these words do not promise to bring
back the person or thing lost.
they do not promise to right
the wrong in the here and now.
but oh the hope they bring!
you. are. not. alone.
you need not be able to
run,
walk,
even crawl
on your own,
for He will carry you
and lift you up to soar above
the crushing weight of
grief and despair.
He understands
your pain.
lift your eyes
to the One
who holds
the stars
in His hands
and is the wind
beneath the wings
of the eagle.
He will never let you go. 
