Joy at Christmas

Christmas is such a special time; it is a time of joy, a time for family, a time for reflection.

Amanda and Dad in 2005

I always feel an unspoken pressure to be happy at this time of year, like somehow sadness is forbidden. I don't think I am the only one to feel this. For some, as for myself these past two years, Christmas time is one tinged with a lining of tears. If you have lost someone dear to you you will understand. Every Christmas tradition, every hymn has a memory of my Dad attached. I sing "O come all ye faithful" and I see us as a family singing at the carol service every year, I wrap the gifts and I think "What would I have bought him this year?".
So why do I share this?
I don't share it for sympathy or to make you sad but I share because i know there are many like me that grieve the loss of a loved one every Christmas. I want to express to those of you that can relate that it's OK to be sad at Christmas, it's OK to be broken and to miss that special someone. I love Jesus, I love His story and the hope Christmas brings but that doesn't mean I am not allowed to be a little sad.
This Christmas remember that the baby that was born over 2000 years ago became Jesus, a man acquainted with grief and sorrow, a man who understands our pain and wants to love us through it.
True joy comes not from circumstance but from our loving God;

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"