THE SET UP: If I’m being truly honest, I have to admit that the holiday season is difficult for me. For the first half of my life, Christmas was a huge event. Our family all lived within a half-hour of each other, so we spent Christmas and Christmas Eve jumping from house to house, opening presents and eating amazing food. I would joke with my older cousins about how long we’d be stuck at the “kids’ table,” and then rush off to play video games with them once we finished clearing off the tables. I’d always find a way to sit on my aunt’s lap, even when I was taller than she was, and I couldn’t wait to eat my paternal grandmother’s peanut brittle (especially the year after I got my braces off - all I wanted that Christmas was her peanut brittle!).
Sadly, my Christmas traditions were flipped upside down during my last couple of years of high school as we mourned the loss of my grandmother, grandfather, and my aunt. Three huge losses within a two-year time span would be difficult for anyone, but the after-effects were just as devastating. The death in our family split our connection with our other relatives, and my uncle and cousins stopped coming to family events.
As a 16-year-old trying to figure out life, faith, and her future, losing those important relationships and my family traditions was excruciating. I was unsure of how to handle my already irrational teenage emotions, so I just became angry. So, so angry. However, becasue I was a “good Christian girl,” I thought I was supposed to just be happy all the time, so I shoved that anger down where it was allowed to grow into bitterness and resentment.
Thankfully, God has worked through all that trauma to help me become the woman I am today. With the help of my friends, family, medication, and an amazing therapist, I’ve been able to process my buried emotions and learn better coping strategies. Not only has that been huge for my own growth, but it’s given me a deeper empathy for others. I can share what I’ve learned with others, especially the students I work with, and I’m better equipped to support my friends when they go through their own hardships.
Because of His love for me, God didn’t leave me broken. He gave me the resources and strength I needed to find true healing.
When I start to lose my joy around this season, I try to remember that even the Almighty Creator of the universe wept. Jesus was one with God and knew exactly how everything would play out, but He still felt very real pain and He still cried.
Jesus came to earth to save us, but He did so as a man in order to live among us and show us how to live out God’s commands in real-time. Jesus lived a fully human life. He felt pain and suffering. He faced criticism and abuse. He went through all of this to show us that God and His justice will ultimately prevail. Jesus’ example shows us that we can feel pain and confusion in hard times, but we can still have joy when we trust in God’s plan.
Christmas is the perfect time for us to remember the humble beginnings of our Savior, the One who willingly stepped down from His heavenly throne to become a carpenter’s son and eventually die a criminal’s death. But He didn’t stay there. He rose again, conquering death and taking away sin’s power.
The power that rose Jesus from the dead is working in us right now. If God is powerful enough to raise the dead and conquer sin and death, isn’t He strong enough to work out your life in a way that is greater than you could ever imagine? True joy comes from trusting in that power. True joy is knowing that even in our deepest pain, God is in control and that He loves us more than we can comprehend.
PASSAGES TO READ: Isaiah 53:1-12
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
How does it affect you knowing that Jesus felt human emotions?
Jesus knew God’s plan, yet still felt sorrow and pain. What can you learn from His example of obedience and trust?
What are some ways you can find joy in the hard times?
PRAYER IDEA: “God, You know exactly how everything will play out. You hold my future in Your hands. When I don’t understand why I am struggling, help me trust in You and Your love for me. Help me remember that You are a compassionate God. You lived as a completely human man, and You have felt feelings of pain and suffering. Thank You for not being a distant God. You are intimately familiar with our lives and care about us more than we can understand. Thank You for loving me and being my place of refuge no matter what I’m facing.”