Christmas 2020

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas. We are now just a few days away from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Albeit this year will be a far cry from other Christmas seasons we have seen. I must tell you that I just deleted an entire post that I was working on. I was trying to make people aware of something, but it ended up sounding just a “little” too depressing. Yes, we are in the midst of a pandemic still. Yes, we are limited to the amount of people we can have around us. And yes, our Christmas celebrations are – and will be – something we are not used to. (O.K., after having typed that, it too, is sounding more than a little depressing!!) But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate. Whether alone, or amongst a family unit, the spirit of the season can still reside with you and within you.

What I wanted people to be aware of is this: if you are limited to your family unit and/or contact with just one or two other people, you are still very lucky. You may be feeling lonely and dispirited, but you still have someone – or a couple of “someones” – in your life. There are too many people out there that don’t have ANYONE in their lives to limit. These feelings that you’re feeling – these NEW feelings – of being alone, of despair, of having the Christmas season stifling you, are feelings that others have EVERY Christmas season. And these people always seem to get through somehow, and so will you. Maybe you’ll get through them a little wiser in having “felt” for the first time what others felt ALL the time. These feelings will not last. Be with the people you CAN be with. You can still laugh and talk and visit, just with a very much smaller group. Drop in on a neighbour when they don’t expect you – but don’t forget to wear your mask. Send a card to someone not expecting it. You’ll be amazed at the spark that will leave. Make a phone call, or a ZOOM call, to someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile. Maybe their smile will be contagious. Maybe YOURS will be the smile that’ll be contagious. You never know.

Then there are the people that have had someone in their lives taken by this virus. These people will have an empty chair at the Christmas dinner this year – sometimes TWO empty chairs within one family. This causes a loss that many of us can’t comprehend. No one knows what they are going through – unless you, too, have had someone taken from you, for whatever reason. This will be a difficult time for very many people. Some may get to the point of not even wanting to go on, let alone celebrate. To those people, I can just say “hold on”. Don’t let the despair and the loneliness win. Try to find that someone you CAN be around this Christmas. It’s definitely not good to spend this first Christmas without a loved one alone. Please. This feeling of loss will become bearable at some point – just hold on.

Christmas is supposed to be a joyous season. One with laughter, chuckles and smiles. There was so much this year to overwhelm us – and is still overwhelming us. Many are in another round of lockdowns to try to combat this horrendous virus. But the joy of the season isn’t on lockdown. The love of the season isn’t cancelled. The peace of the season isn’t quarantined. All these can still be felt somewhere, we just may have to look a little harder to find them. But find them we will.

Last but again, definitely not least, let’s remember what this season is really about, even though it is not “politically correct” to do so. Christmas is about celebrating the Christ Child. The birth of our Saviour. That miraculous and momentous occasion over 2000 years ago. Even though you may be alone, the Spirit of the Season will always be here. Just look up and ask Him to show you. The Heavenly Father will always be near, even when the feeling isn’t. Maybe ESPECIALLY when the feeling isn’t. You are not alone. If you don’t know the Story of the Christ Child, or if your faith is in something else, this Spirit that is Christmas, this Joy that is this Season, this Peace that surrounds, is still here for you to envelop – or to envelop you. It is this ‘Enveloping” that will see us through this and anything else that may come along.

May the Peace, Joy, and Spirit that is Christmas – that is CHRIST – be with us all. In this and through this, He will guide us to the other side.

Until next time,

Inge