That Time of Year

 It’s that time of the year again. Holidays! All the festivities and merriment, the parties, and luncheons, gifts, decorating. Things that go along with celebrating. This year seems especially joy-filled since only last year we were in the middle of a health scare that none of us had ever experienced. It is not over but at least it has become more manageable, more tolerable.

And yet just today I was reminded of what a sad time Christmas can be for many. Those who have lost loved ones will have fewer places to set at the Christmas table, fewer presents to unwrap, fewer hugs and kisses. Those who are homeless will spend yet another day in their cars, on the streets, in a shelter, or anyplace they can find to just stay warm. Many hurting people with many different problems.

Even I have forgotten what a sad time the holidays were for me just a few years back. When my son was in prison, I dreaded the feeling I got when I thought about what he was going through as we filled our hearts with the laughter and the excitement of Christmas morning. The sense of hopelessness can over power the love and hope found in Christ Jesus and the wonder of His birth, death, and resurrection.

The pastor’s message in worship today really touched my heart. The scripture was from Isaiah who saw his people really disheartened with their circumstances. The Children of Israel were in captivity and Jerusalem had been practically destroyed.  Just as his sermon title stated, the people were trying to cope “When Everything is Wrong.”  In the search for meaning amid the chaos, they had forgotten where true hope lies. Isaiah promised them that hope in a coming Messiah.

In many ways we are just like those ancestors of long ago. We search for meaning in the material and physical things of this world. My pastor’s words struck a personal hurt that I had not recalled in many years.

When I was about 13 or 14 years old, I had a particularly difficult Christmas. My parents had just divorced, I had moved to a new school, and I had developed a very low image of myself. To put it frankly, I was just hurting. I had asked for some store-bought clothes for Christmas, not just store bought but name brand items. I was tired of wearing my homemade ones. My mother, being a single mom, had tried her best. She purchased two beautiful sweaters for me from a fashionable retail shop.  Although they were stylish and trendy, they were expensive and all that she could afford. I remember the disappointment on Christmas morning when I saw there were just two and they didn’t even fit me properly. I was a tall and awkward size at that time which is probably the reason most of my wardrobe was hand made. I must have cried and thrown a terrible fit, because I can still feel the pain and the heartache, not just my own but the hurt I caused my mother as well.

I see the same actions today in others trying to fill the void in their heart with “stuff.” Christmas lists with impractical items for hearts longing to feel better, searching for hope.…trying to find their store-bought happiness

That’s where we as believers can help. Unlike Isaiah, we know the promised Messiah. We can be the hands and feet of Christ. We can offer that hope to a world that has forgotten what it means to care for our fellow man. And it doesn’t take a lot of time and money either. We just have to offer ourselves to others. A simple smile, a kind word, a handshake can start a transformation and, who knows, it just might change someone’s life in the process.