A Holiday Remembrance
Advent season came and went.
Christmas Eve came and went.
Christmas morning came and went.
Epiphany will come and go.
Lent, Easter, Pentecost…they all arrive and leave.
They’re all great traditions full of joy and remembrances of varying degrees, but…
…Celebrating these seasons and days doesn’t make you a Christian.
As great as the last few weeks have been, Christianity is found in the days and weeks and months between the occasional date on the calendar.
It’s found in the couch with your spouse of 37 years holding your hand while watching Hallmark movies.
It’s found at the bedside of the beloved husband, father, grandpa, and friend as he drifts in and out of consciousness from the pain meds he’s being given by the hospice care team.
It’s found at the graveside of the firstborn child taken home far too early.
It’s found in the one step at a time fight against the temptation to fall back into old patterns of doing.
It’s found while sniffing the carpet in your bedroom with snot and tears flowing from your face as grief and despair lead you cry out.
Why?
Because in each of these places, God is there. God is moving and working and comforting and supporting and guiding and generally being present in all things. We don’t understand all of them or any of them, if we’re honest with ourselves, yet God does. He has good and has made all things happen in his timing and good pleasure.
Take comfort, friends. Though the season is drawing toward its end, God’s providence and work are not. God’s hands are always active.
You’re never far from God’s love and blessing, regardless of what your circumstances may shout at you.
~SDG~
Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash