12/16/12- Grief in Christmas

3^rd Sunday of Advent- 12/16-  Ps. 31:24- Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Lessons and Carols; Deacons Lunch; Caroling- Presbyterian Home

Thought:  It is easy to lose heart when we think of what or who is missing in the holidays.  There are about 20 families in Connecticut who will be missing their six and seven year old children.  This is the age when Christmas is still so very meaningful- and they light up the whole family.  When these families eat, they will be missed at the table.  Millions of families are especially lonely because the extra earthly expectations for joy make grief that much stronger.  On much smaller but wider scale we may not have gotten the present we wanted.  Grief, disappointment and depression are prevalent on “the most wonderful time of the year.”  Such disappointment reminds us that we are not to hope in this life, but in God.  A sickness, an angry or missing relative or friend, may pull our eyes off of our hope.  But God is near the contrite and humble in heart (Isaiah 57:15).  Sadness, if seen properly, can purify our hope from the temporary to the eternal; from what is sure to disappoint to who will fulfill our hopes. 

Prayer: Lord, I am weak.  But your grace is sufficient for me so that in my weakness I am strong in hope.  Help me to hope in you, and not lose that hope because of my sadness. 

Application: Think of your saddest moment in your past.  How did you find God’s hope through that?  How can you have hopeful thoughts today?  Today, Light a candle in your house for hope.  

"And you beneath life's crushing load, 

Whose forms are bending low...
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow...
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing..."

The angels sang to a hurting grieving earth. 

See Tennyson's poem: "A Grief at Christmas" exploring grief at Christmas time over three years.