Christmas 2011

I don’t know how people in warmer climates manage to acknowledge Christmas.  I suppose you get used to it.  This year in Winnipeg, most people will say that the above normal temperatures are making it difficult for them to feel like it is Christmas.  Yet here we are, one week away.

There are lots of other reasons that I may want to give up on Christmas.  It brings back memories that make me feel sad and burdened.  I am going through a particularly difficult time right now.  There is no obvious reason to celebrate.

It reminds me of the hymn In the Bleak Midwinter:

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

I will celebrate because, no matter how it appears, Jesus always shows up.   I will celebrate because, even though I don’t see how, my circumstances will change.  I will celebrate because, even though I feel alone in my sadness, the incarnation sustains me not just through Christmas but all year round.

May this be a year of happy beginnings for you and your family.

Love,

Misty