Where are You Christmas?....

From “Tis the season to be jolly,” echoed in the words of “Deck the Halls,” to “Where are you Christmas”, we are so often left wondering and confused of what are the expectations of Christmas. I love Christmas. I love all it is, and all we celebrate.

My life changed forever, the day I welcomed into my heart, that One who was born on Christmas day. But, I am saddened by the high expectations that is put on everyone for that one day. Expectations that may be too hard for many to bear. These are expectations that Christ never wanted us to bear. Expectations that He actually came to set us free from. He never wanted this day to be a day of worrying about what people think, or trying to please everyone, or going into debt for gifts, or hiding our sorrows. Mankind, like we always have done with so many things, have made Christmas into a day of sorrow instead of rejoicing. Those who are not jolly, feel there is something wrong with them. Those who can not afford to buy gifts, feel like a failure. Those who are lonely, feel discouraged. Those who are sad, misfitted. Those who are depressed, strange. And the list goes on. It is no wonder that someone wrote the song, “Where are you Christmas” with these words-- “Where are you Christmas, Why can't I find you, Why have you gone away. Where is the laughter, you used to bring me, why can't I hear music play?” I was thinking just the other day of so many friends and loved ones. I know seven moms who have lost children in the last few years. They grieve heavily at Christmas without their presence. I miss my mom more than ever this Christmas. And yet we live in a world that is full of cliches such as, “Get over it”, “What's your problem?” I know friends who are grieving over a loved one, spouse, or parent, wherein the Christmas' they knew all their life changed forever, instantly. I know friends who are fighting cancer, or their loved one is fighting cancer, or fighting health issues, financial problems, emotional problems, and burdens that hang over them like a cloud. And they ask~~Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away? Where is the laughter, you used to bring me? Why can't I hear your music play?

But the true answer to that question is that it has not gone away. It is right here in our hearts. We just have to push past the clouds that have shielded it's light from us. It is in our hearts, where our memories, can bring us the joy of their love. It is in our hearts, when we can feel the Hope that was born on Christmas day to lift us above the shadows of life. It is in our hearts, when we can give our burdens of health, finances, and sorrow to the One who was born that day to give us His Peace. It is in our hearts, where Love never dies, and gives us strength to walk one day at a time until we can heal and go forward. It is even in our hearts where we can find the Joy of Christmas~~not in what we've lost~~but in what remains. He was more than a baby in a manger~~He was a God born in the flesh to carry us through the storms, the hurts, the pain, the confusion, the doubts, the fears, the sorrows, and our griefs, because He loves you. With Him, we can sing the rest of that song~~”Oh I feel you Christmas. I know I've found you. You never fade away. Oh, the joy of Christmas, stays here inside us. Fills each and every heart with love.” Because He is Christmas. Every time you cry~~He cries with you. You are not alone, and are loved so much. May you have a blessed Christmas~~