Joy in the Aftermath
The day after Christmas can bring a heaviness all its own — especially when you’re grieving. Maybe you spent weeks bracing yourself for Christmas without your spouse or loved one, expecting the day to be dramatic and emotionally overwhelming. But instead… it just felt quiet. Empty. Different in a way you can’t quite put into words.
And now it’s the day after, and what lingers isn’t the chaos or the intensity you prepared for.
It’s the ache.
The quiet realization that you still have to keep going.
There will be more holidays without him. More birthdays. More milestones he won’t be there for.
It’s the ache.
The quiet realization that you still have to keep going.
There will be more holidays without him. More birthdays. More milestones he won’t be there for.
And that realization can hit harder than Christmas Day itself.
I remember feeling this deeply as I approached the first anniversary of Jon’s death. I had braced myself so much for the “firsts” — the first Christmas, the first birthday, the first anniversary — that I hadn’t emotionally prepared for what came after. In some tucked-away part of my mind, I think I believed that if I could just make it through that first year, something would lift. That maybe the second Christmas would magically feel easier. That somehow reaching the anniversary would mark a turning point toward normalcy.
Read more...Joy in the Manger
The Christmas story is often wrapped in words like joy, peace, and “good news.” We hear phrases like “Merry Christmas” and “joy to the world” everywhere — on cards, in songs, on store displays. But for someone walking through grief, joy can feel impossibly out of reach during the holidays.
And yet, when the angel appeared to the shepherds, he didn’t say,
“Good news of great joy — for those who feel happy.”
He said, “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
“Good news of great joy — for those who feel happy.”
He said, “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
Joy came for the grieving.
Joy came for the brokenhearted.
Joy came for those whose lives did not look the way they hoped.
Joy came for the brokenhearted.
Joy came for those whose lives did not look the way they hoped.
Joy came for you.
Because joy came in the person of Jesus.
Because joy came in the person of Jesus.
The angel went on to say,
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
A Savior — not just for our sins, but for our sorrows.
A Savior who knows grief, pain, betrayal, loneliness, and loss.
A Savior who stepped into our broken world, not to escape suffering, but to enter into it.
Read more...A Savior who knows grief, pain, betrayal, loneliness, and loss.
A Savior who stepped into our broken world, not to escape suffering, but to enter into it.
