Most years, I’m not confident about what to post on Christmas. I doubt many people will take the time to read a blog post, even if it’s their daily habit.
But everyone is not busy today. And while most years, I post something simple and inspirational and typically easy—a video or graphic—I am prompted to post something that might still be simple and is hopefully inspirational, but I want to specifically speak into the lives of those who are struggling today.
You might be struggling alone, or you might be surrounded by people but still feel lonely and sad. You might feel guilty for celebrating today, because someone is missing. You might physically, emotionally, relationship, or spiritually feel sick, tired, overwhelmed, or weary.
Perhaps you don’t feel as if today is much different than any other day, except it’s a day that seems to isolate you even more, putting an exclamation point on whatever chaos and exhaustion is going on in your life.
Today is the day we celebrate Jesus’s birth. He wasn’t born on December 25th. Sorry if that’s disappointing news for you. But that’s one of the reasons why today is so important, even if it just feels like another miserable day to you. We can celebrate Jesus any day of the year. Not with presents and family gatherings and extravagant meals. Celebrating him is a quieter worship. It’s internal as we choose him, and it’s external and we live for and share him.
Hope was in the world before Jesus was born into the world. God is the source of hope, even when we don’t acknowledge him or find comfort in the way he expresses it. That doesn’t mean it’s not true—just as your feelings right now don’t define who you are or the world around you.
There is hope, and you can choose it. Hope isn’t a fix-it-all. It doesn’t suddenly tie up your life in a neat and tidy bow. But it provides a stability and anticipation. When we choose to trust even a sliver of God’s hope, we gain some courage to take a step, reach out, stand a little straighter, speak a little louder, and breathe.
I want you to know today that there is hope. For you. Right now.
And I am asking God to help you experience it today.
Blessings, my friend. This might not be the merriest of Christmases for you, but hope is better than merriment every day of the year.
Pure Purpose 