This Christmas season is very difficult for those of us who have experienced a loss of any kind. It does not feel like a time to celebrate, to shop, to decorate, or even for family gatherings.
As a matter of fact we may be wishing that we could go to sleep in December and wake up some time in January and all this Christmas stuff was over.
The Christmas story is to be a story of happiness - for it is the GOOD NEWS - the birth of a baby that is the Savior of the world.
Often we are so busy with the hustle and bustle of Christmas to notice the pain the people also must have experienced during this time- The deep pain, sadness, worry, the endless tears that were shed, the sleepless nights, the anxiety and the fear.
Let's just take a closer look at the Christmas story, and we will find many anxious, scared and tearful times.
Mary - a young unwed women - in labor, scared- alone in a stable away from the comforts of home and family. How hard this must have been for this young lady. One can't even imagine the anxiety and pain she was going through. I am sure many tears were shed by her that night.
Joseph - so embarrassed that he thought he would dismiss Mary quietly on the side and just walk away from this entire picture. How difficult was this for him? Joseph no doubt had many sleepless nights of anxiety on his journey to Bethlehem. How would he support a wife and a new baby?
Then we hear of frightened shepherds in the fields as they were greeted by angels in the night sky. They must have been terrified to hear and see this unfold before their eyes. Were they hearing and seeing things? Were they going crazy?
Difficult times were experienced by Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, not to mention the pain of the people of Egypt. I think there are more tears in the Christmas story than there were times of joy.
Like people in the Christmas story we too have some very great fears, times of great pain, anxiety and sadness.
But we also have the reassurance of a God who loves us and cares for us. We need not fear or be anxious or worried about our tomorrows.
As we remember days of the past we can remember comfort and compassion that was poured out on us abundantly by family and friends who walked with us on our life journey. Without these people in our lives it would have been very difficult to make it though the first few days, weeks, month and years of our grief.
God puts people in our path to give us comfort and compassion. We give God thanks for the gift of friends and family.
We recall the gift of memories. Not all memories are happy ones. Emotions run high and often misunderstandings do happen within families.
We are all human and we make mistakes. Bad memories will quickly fade and the good memories will prevail. We recall gatherings and joyous times we shared- The love that was given and received. We give God thanks for the gift of memories.
We were created to love each other and to care for one another. God showed us his endless love when he sent his son into the world.
'Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.' - Freya Stark
Margaret Anne Yost nursed for 35 years. Returning back to school I completed classes from the Red River College in the areas of Gerontology, Bereavement, Death and Dying. For twelve years I worked in bereavement support at a funeral home.
At present I am employed as an Interim Parish Worker at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Melville Sask. I also enjoy my role as homemaker and full time grandmother.
