Oh, how can He come at a time like this,

When the family is fractured, when all is amiss?

When I can't even think of one carol to sing

That expresses the emptiness, a song that will ring

True to the pain that I bear in my heart?

 

I can't think of parties, I can't even start

To begin to pretend that the season of joy

Is a joy to me!  Bright trees and lights that annoy

Me with false blinking hope in the midst of my darkness!

How can Christ come at a time like this?

 

How can I celebrate a babe in a manger

When peace has escaped me and love is a stranger,

And all I can do is just hang on tenaciously,

Praying my sanity does not escape me?

 

How can I sit there 'mid carols by candlelight,

Clenching my fists 'gainst the screaming not silent night?

The bright decorations are mocking my lack of bliss.

And Jesus is born at a time like this?

-- by Heartbeat

 

Oh, yes! Hurting child, at a time like this!

    ♥     ♥      ♥      ♥     ♥

Reader, if you are distressed about facing Christmas alone this year because there is one loved one missing from your holiday table, please take comfort in the undeniable fact that Christ came to make a way for us to know Him, trust Him, be encouraged and embraced by Him, and one day be reunited with Him and those we care about.

Or, if you dread the coming of Christmas because it is a painful reminder of how far your financial situation is from healthy, please find hope in the blessed knowledge that Christ experienced poverty while He walked the earth, and that as you turn to Him, He is even now taking your needs to the Father God for help.

Or, if you are fighting holiday-related anxiety and fear and loneliness, be assured that God has made provision for you to find answers to those troubling issues as you lean on Him and concentrate on nurturing your love-relationship with His Son.

Christmas is not just a holiday for the deliriously happy.  In fact, if it were possible for us to be permanently secure and content and unrufflably joyful, unerring problem solvers and flawlessly perfect, there would have been no need for a Christmas in the first place.  If we COULD have saved ourselves, there would have been no baby born in a manger!

There is something to celebrate, even when your circumstances seem unbearable.  Especially when your circumstances seem unbearable.  Even when your world is reeling.  Especially when your world is reeling.

Christ came to earth...for you!  He came to bring heart-peace and hope!  He came to offer Himself as the answer to your deepest heart needs.

But you will still have nothing to celebrate unless you invite Him into your situation...and more importantly, into your life! ♥

--© Heartbeat of the Home