Letters
Someone said I became a writer the year I wrote my Christmas letter and described the blue lights high on a snowy hill on our farm in Kentucky. That was a hard year. My mother had died and I was missing her Christmas traditions that I try to keep going in my own home. I was sad and nostalgic, letting my heart travel to new places of grief, unfamiliar places of great loss. A new depth entered my realm of thinking. I learned I could embrace the pain and in embracing it, something transformational happened. When I decided to share my sadness and loneliness with others through writing, it became a fragrance for others to receive. Little did I know I was being prepared for other events that would challenge my heart to depths of loss I never thought possible.
Gifts
come in mysterious ways, that is for sure.
And I ask you this Christmas:
Have your life events moved you in a direction of transformation?
Oh, I love hearing about your travels, grandchildren and accomplishments, but I wonder more about your deeper thoughts and how you love your family and friends.
Today, just a few days before Christmas, why not write your own Christmas letter?Often, we can put words on paper that come from some deeper place. Sometimes it is written to personally identify thoughts and feelings. Trust me, I have written many words that are read by only one person. Me.
Tell me how the Pandemic years changed you, changed your family.
Tell me how you felt when you lost your job or learned to work differently.
Tell me your response when you were told there were no more treatment options.
Tell me how you long for your son or daughter to return.
You see, what happens to most of us is this: when the hard days come - and we have all had hard days - we want to shut down, retreat, worry and refuse to share our hurts. Pride closes the door to transformation while others who are hurting wait for your story. There is always someone who needs to smell the fragrance of human life by simply
sharing a memory,
remembering a special time,
talking over a concern or maybe the hardest of all,
just sitting with someone and being silent
together.
Go ahead, write your thoughts.
May these days of our coming Jesus explode in wonder and grace as you ponder his gift.
May you find hope and transformation when you think there is none,
peace when you feel unsettled,
and love always abounding.
Jesus, Savior of the world,
Teach us to share the excitement of Christ in our lives, sharing your message of hope and healing. Let us rejoice with laughter like children anticipating Christmas morning. Amen
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