Onward and Forward

Taking another break from my normal topic just to share something that has been on my heart for the past several weeks. I am not going to lie to you . . . last Christmas was a tough one for my family. It was the first Christmas in fifty years that we all had to spend it without my dad. We all put on our “game faces” since we were determined not to be sad. This year, I even started listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween . . . which is WAY early for me . . . to help myself to get into the Christmas spirit.

I have heard people who have lost close loved ones say that they just did not feel like celebrating Christmas. I understand, because I was at that point last year. Different people grieve over lost loved ones in different ways, and we all have to let them grieve in the only way they know how. No one can put a timetable on grief either. Two weeks after Dad passed away, a former coworker of mine told me that I needed to “just get over it”. What he said shocked me so much that I didn’t know what to say! My initial response was to slap him into the next century, but I knew if I had done that, I’d have probably ended up in jail! One of the many things I learned through Dad’s death is that people can have the best intentions, but sometimes they can say some of the dumbest things. It’s because they have never experienced the things we have; therefore, they don’t know what to say, and what they do say comes out in ways that they did not intend. No matter how dumb those things sound, as a Christian, I must never respond in such a way that could possibly ruin my opportunity to be a blessing to others in the future. Let’s face it . . . if Christ tarries His Coming, other friends will face the death of a loved one as well. I must be able to be an encouragement to them, and I cannot do that if I respond unkindly to them.

As a single woman, one of the other things I occasionally struggle with is . . . well . . . being single. I go through times when I wonder why life isn’t different, but don’t all of us do that, regardless of our marital status? Too much of our society has been snowed by the fairytale that we will live “happily ever after” if we find a spouse. Facebook and Twitter are filled with dating sites urging us to find our “perfect match” (for the record, I DETEST dating sites and avoid them like the plague . . . more on that in a later blog post . . . maybe). Marriage is a wonderful calling . . . only for those who are called to it. However, even in the best marriages, there are still always going to be problems . . . because, guess what? The husband and wife are HUMAN!!

As a Christian, my true peace and joy is not in the relationship and love that I felt with my dad. It is not in the safety I felt when he was around. My peace and security does not come from any human relationship. Humans will always fail each other. It may not be on purpose, but it happens because we’re human. We are not perfect. My true Peace, Joy, and Contentment all come from God alone! If I spend all of my time searching for a “perfect mate”, I’m going to be in for a big disappointment. The only Perfect Person is God. If God is my only Source of Peace, I have every reason to celebrate Christmas no matter what my circumstances are. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 says:

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

My hope, joy, and peace is in God Almighty Who came to this earth as a baby for the sole purpose of sacrificing Himself so that I and the whole world can spend eternity with Him. No other human being could ever come close to offering that same peace and security. That reason alone is the only reason any of us need to celebrate Christmas. It is the only reason any of us need to go on in life . . . period.

Until next time . . . let’s keep on running . . . onward and forward!