I have never really written a blog at night, but as I was going through some Facebook posts tonight and thinking of some people/families I know, I just felt the need to write this.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are great holidays and they represent great things. Yes, we should be thankful all year round, but I have always loved that we gather each year with family and friends to celebrate the idea of being thankful. And then there is Christmas....another great time with family and friends, and a time to recognize that as we give each other gifts, we will never be able to give a gift as special as the one God gave us, His son.
But again, because of some posts I have read, some families I know....and my own personal experiences this year, sometimes the holidays can be hard to face. The joy that should be there just has a little less "joy" to it than other years. Maybe it's because you have lost a loved one, maybe it's because 2014 has been a very hard year or maybe it's because your family doesn't look like what it did last year or the year before. For whatever reason these holidays may feel like they have a dark cloud over them...and I understand that the cloud is there and it is real and you can feel it deep down inside. I am not here to deny that feeling at all. What I am here to say is that there is one who offers healing for that pain you are feeling. He is more real than the deepest pain and His love really can cover all. He offers hope to the hopeless and healing to the brokenhearted. Psalms 147:3 says "He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up there wounds." You see, if anyone can understand the different kinds of pain we go through, it is God. He sent His son to earth knowing how we would reject Him, how we would bring Him horrific physical pain and ultimately we would kill him. Imagine the pain that had to have caused God, but He did it because He loves us. He wanted to create a way for us to be able to repent for our sins, accept the biggest sacrifice that could possibly be made for us and be guided by the Holy Spirit throughout our life so we wouldn't just be walking around blindly. He did it because He wanted us to have a way to heaven, the place He intended for us to be before sin ever came into the picture. So you see why He can heal you, because He has felt your pain. He has felt the separation from Jesus while He walked the earth. He has felt the pain of watching someone He loved go through something they did NOT deserve. And He has felt the pain of watching someone He loved die. And don't think because it was Jesus it wasn't real...it was! He knew that everything Jesus felt as He was beaten and hung on that cross was real human pain. The worst any one person could ever endure.
So as this holiday comes tomorrow, whatever pain you are facing, know that He loves you and wants to help you get through it. Satan wants you to continue to feel the sting of that pain. Don't allow him to do that to you. 1 Peter 5:7 says "...cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you". Who else do you know that is inviting you to give Him your heartache, your hurt, your sadness and your pain. He wants to heal your heart and let you feel His love.
As I too face these holidays with a family that looks completely different than it did last year, I know that I will be thankful. I will thank Him for how He has brought me and my kids through 2014...how He has been there every step of the way...how has brought new people and great friendships into my life...how He has filled the loneliest nights with His love...and how He has brought peace and joy into our lives when it didn't seem possible. Circumstances did not do this.....my God did. And tomorrow I will spend every moment thanking Him for that. Showing Him my gratitude for His unconditional, unfailing, trustworthy love. I hope you can do the same.
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