When Christmas Feels Heavy
Christmas is a season of joy and celebration. We celebrate Christ’s miraculous birth to a world that desperately needed a Savior.In this season of gladness and festivity, it can be easy to feel depressed and lonely. You see the Christmas decorations and lights and just can’t gather up enough energy to put yours up. You want to be excited and cheerful, but it just feels so hard. Your heart just isn’t in it.
Grief may still be very fresh for you, and the happiness around you may feel impossible to muster. It can be easy for the weight of grief to make your spirit feel heavy, instead of hopeful.
- Grief doesn’t stop just because there is cause for celebration.
- Grief doesn’t stop just because you’re invited to a party.
- Grief doesn’t stop just because you know Jesus came to earth for you.
- Grief doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas.
And grief doesn’t need to stop. We feel grief because we loved so deeply. It’s ok to feel what you're feeling, and you shouldn’t try to force yourself to put your grief on the back burner.
Finding Hope in Grief
But...
We can have hope because Jesus KNOWS our sorrow and our grief (Isaiah 53:3).
We can have hope because Jesus FELT deep grief and sorrow (John 11:35).
He experienced everything we experience on earth, and it wasn’t sugar coated for Him, just because He is the Son of God. He felt all the raw emotions you may be feeling right now. He cried, He prayed, He felt heavy in spirit.
He sees you and knows your pain better than anyone else. He is ready to comfort you when you come to Him.
It’s okay if the lights and decorations don’t get put up this year. It’s okay if you don’t have the bandwidth to go to parties. Be gentle with yourself and do what feels restorative.
Hold onto the hope of Jesus, and rest in Him this Christmas season.
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