| Christmas Past
By Gloria Marsella Tis the season to be jolly! Do you feel far from jolly during the holiday season? It may be because of a separation or divorce or the loss of a spouse or family member or even a good friend. The first Christmas after a loss is the hardest, I can attest to that. The first year after my divorce was so very painful for me. The pain was still fresh and I couldn’t wait for the Christmas season to be over. I had children, so I had to go through the motions of the season. I still had my mother and all holidays were then spent at her house, some with my children, some without. When my mother died, all traditions went with her. Now I didn’t even have anywhere to go for the holidays. If I didn’t have good friends, I don’t know how I would have made it through. It is important to recognize that we have choices to make about how we celebrate. Some families cling to the old ways to help keep the memories of Christmas’ past. Others try something new, a different place or time to celebrate, such as dinner out when dinner used to be served at home or having brunch instead of the traditional dinner. Start a new tradition this Christmas. To some this helps keep old memories from opening new wounds. Whatever the decision about how to celebrate the season, you should discuss how you see the holidays. Enlist help from family and friends and do not keep fears and feeling private. Listen to your heart and acknowledge your limits. Spend some quiet time alone in meditation, prayer and reading your Bible. Right now you may feel like scattered pieces of a broken puzzle. Honor that feeling, but also take comfort in knowing that the pieces can be reshuffled, rearranges and pieced together to form a new picture. You will heal, but only as you allow yourself to experience the full range of emotion of your journey through grief. You may at times feel all alone and that no one cares. There may be someone you know who is feel the same way. At times you have to take the first step and make the phone call or the visit. There are times when you don’t feel like it, but you must reach out to someone for help and friendship. Christ Church has a dinner on Christmas Eve. Everyone is invited to share a meal with neighbors and friends. After the dinner there is a service in the Sanctuary. Come to the dinner and meet a new friend or invite one of your friends or a member of your family to join you to share in this time and you will be blessed. God is Always There by Ruth Johnson Our Heavenly Father is always there He knows our sadness and despair And if we would just call on Him He will always hear our prayer. When in our life those struggles come And we tend to feel so alone Our Fathers watching from above With compassion and such love He knows our every weakness He sees us when we fail And yet His perfect love for us He continues to unveil He loves to see our child like faith As we kneel beside our beds And share our hurts and broken dreams Before we lay down our heads So when you are discouraged And you think that no one cares Just give it all to God above Because He’s always there. Colossians 3:13-15 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. May God Bless you during this holiday season. |
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