The Christmas holiday is a time to remember that Jesus came to earth to save the world from sin and redeem them back to himself. It is a time of joy and love. Families gather from their homes to a central location and spend time together. Gifts are given, but none so precious as the time spent together.
This year, I have come to see how important spending time as a family, together at the holidays, is. My family knows two separate families that lost children this past week. One lost a son, found on a beach the Wednesday before Christmas. The other lost a daughter, the Friday before Christmas. My heart aches for these families. Neither death was expected. And while death in a family is hard at any time, it's made even worse when it is supposed to be a time of joy. For young adults and small children, the hurt is hard. They had their whole life ahead of them to be an amazing light for God. Their potential was unfathomed, and then they were snatched from their families by the ugly jaws of death.
It's hard to find room in a hurting heart to praise God during such a time. You hardly know which way to turn, the joy seemingly sucked right out of your soul. But it is in praise to God that we find that we can move on. For in praise to God, we find we remember the highlights and wonderful memories of the person we have loved and lost. God heals our hurt with laughter and grateful remembrance that we shared a part in this person's life. We never know how far a person has touched lives, until that person is gone. Unfortunately, we sometimes appreciate them more when they are gone than when they are here, because we don't realize that they are quietly blessing us with their presence in our life.
It is not wrong to mourn. It's natural. A person you once shared your life with, in some capacity, is no longer there. But it would be wrong to not thank God for the person sharing a portion of your life. The greatest tribute that any person could give someone that has passed away, is to be changed by the life that was lost and to share that impact with others. Just like God, sending his Son to save us, the greatest thing we could ever do, is to share that He came and wants to save you, too.
My prayer is that my friends never have to experience a time of sadness. But if you do, the comfort of God will accompany the sadness and provide a refuge for your heart. My prayers also go out to the two families that lost family members.
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