"Tis The Season

"Tis the season to be jolly Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la" most of us find it difficult to be jolly during this time of year. We allow ourselves to become consumed and overwhelmed in grief, sorrow, pain and emptiness. The heaviness of our hearts results from losing a loved one, a friendship or relationship, a job or maybe losing ourselves. Most of us don't find joy because we have made it normal to be comfortable with being stuck in grief. Unknowingly, we make a partnership with grief which leads us to experience various feelings of sadness, anger, loneliness, guilt and disbelief.

Grief is a heart response to hurt that presents itself as a painful emotion of sorrow cause by the loss of someone or something that meant the world to us. Most of us grieve silently all year long but during the holidays most of us grieve out loud on social media, during a family dinner argument, isolating ourselves during the family Christmas party or even being the "Grinch" of the family. The spirit of grief for most of us is unshakeable and operates at an all-time high during the holidays. Grief has many of us in a chokehold causing our children, spouses, family members and everyone else around us to suffer.

We have to be open and willing to be in a place in our lives where we stop hanging onto unhealthy, unresolved, and unhealed grief. When we lose someone or something we tend to die right along with it because we don't know "what's next." We find comfort in our loss when we find comfort in the presence of God and His word. God understands our grief and because of that we have unlimited access to Him through prayer, reading, seeking and meditating at any time. I personally always refer to The Bible as an "unlimited prescription" because it provides us with everything, we need during our healing journey from the scriptures to the Biblical Narratives.

Let's make this holiday season our last season to grieve unhealthy. It is not a sin, nor will we go to prison if we decide to let go and move on. This doesn't mean we forget about our loved ones forever and never mention them again. However, this does mean that we are choosing to live again. Let's agree together to not allow ourselves to spend the rest of our lives being miserable for the holidays. We won't be stuck on the "what ifs" nor the "could've, should've, would've". However, let's focus on creating a new holiday tradition personalized for our present loved ones. It could be an annual Christmas party, volunteering at the homeless shelter, adopting a family, going on a vacation or even living and loving the present moment with the ones who are still here. Let's agree together that we will speak with our families about new holiday tradition ideas that will bring joy, love and peace.

P. S. I love you so much, but God loves you so much more.

Prayer,

Lord you are the giver of strength and healing. I ask that you mend the hearts of us who are currently grieving this holiday season due to various losses. You know all the areas where we need strength and I ask that you release your unwavering love unto us all. I ask that our tears will no longer be because of unprocessed pain, sorrow, resentment, disbelief, or guilt. Make this year our last year of being surrounded by grief, depression, disbelief, sorrow and pain not just during the holidays but any day. We may see troubles and we may experience bitterness at times but never let us forget that you are a restorer of life. Lord, lift our spirits and bring us comfort so that our days ahead won't be full of sorrow but of peace, love, and joy. Lord, we thank you in advance for the strength, healing, comfort, joy and peace that we are ready to receive.

In Jesus Name, Amen