(A Christmas Reflection)
Every year, the lights go up, the music turns on, and the world seems to lean hard into cheer. “Merry Christmas!” echoes from store speakers, greeting cards, and overcaffeinated morning show hosts. But for many, this season feels anything but merry.
If that’s you this year—if you’re sad, lonely, or walking through grief—this post is for you.
You’re Not Broken Because You’re Hurting
Let’s just say it plainly: being overwhelmed this time of year doesn’t make you weak—it makes you human. The world around us says you should feel magical and joyful, but your heart might feel tired, cracked, or heavy. And that’s okay.
Some of you are facing Christmas with an empty chair at the table.
Some are trying to navigate celebrations while carrying the weight of loss.
Some are quietly battling depression behind everyone else’s holiday excitement.
Some just feel alone—maybe more this season than any other.
Pain has a way of echoing louder during a season built on celebration. But you need to hear this: you’re not strange, and you’re not alone.
Even the First Christmas Had Tears
We often picture the first Christmas as serene: a silent night, peaceful animals, starlit skies. But the truth is, on the edges of that holy night, there were tears, fears, and exhaustion.
Mary and Joseph were far from home.
The city was overcrowded.
They delivered a baby in a place no one would choose.
It was messy. It was loud. It was lonely.
In other words—Christmas didn’t begin in perfection. It began in need, in uncertainty, in the dark.
And into that darkness came Jesus.
Your darkness doesn’t disqualify you from Christmas; it may actually help you understand it more deeply than most.
God Sees You in This Season
One of the most comforting truths in Scripture is this:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 34:18)
Christmas is not about us climbing up to God; it’s about God coming down to us.
Not to the strong, but to the struggling.
Not to the whole, but to the broken.
Not to the merry, but to the messy.
If your heart feels cracked this Christmas, God is not avoiding you—He is drawing near.
Permission to Feel What You Feel
You don’t have to fake joy.
You don’t have to “snap out of it.”
You don’t have to match the mood around you.
Your grief is real.
Your loneliness is real.
Your weariness is real.
And Jesus meets you as you are—not as the season suggests you should be.
But Here’s the Good News: Hurt Is Not the End of Your Story
There is hope. There is healing. There is comfort. And even if you can’t feel it today, it doesn’t mean God has stopped working.
Sometimes the most courageous prayer is simply:
“Lord, hold me together today.”
Sometimes the most faithful act is showing up to a new morning.
Sometimes hope grows quietly, like the slow, gentle rise of dawn.
Christmas reminds us that light comes—not all at once, but steadily, faithfully—into the darkest places.
A Few Gentle Encouragements for This Christmas
1. Let someone in.
You don’t have to share everything, but you also don’t have to carry everything alone.
2. Give yourself grace.
If all you manage is a small step today, that step matters.
3. Look for the tiny glimmers.
A song. A memory. A cup of coffee (my favorite). A kind word.
They don’t fix everything, but they remind us that God is still at work.
4. Remember: joy is not the same as happiness.
Joy is the quiet assurance that God is with you—even when your heart aches.
You Are Not Forgotten This Christmas
If this season is hard for you, please know this:
I see you. God sees you. You matter.
You are loved—extravagantly, endlessly, right now in the middle of your pain.
Christmas is not just for the cheerful; it’s for the weary, the grieving, the lonely, the ones trying their best to hold it all together.
It’s for you.
May the God who came near in Bethlehem come near to your heart today.
May He fill your darkness with His gentle light.
And may you sense—even in the smallest ways—that you are not alone.
Merry Christmas, dear friend.
Even if it’s a quiet one.
Even if it’s a hard one.
Even if it looks different this year.
The light is still coming. And so is hope.
-Grace & Peace
Pastor Scott.
Pastor's Ponderings 