I have decided to use my Just Sayin' format for the next two weeks. I will return to my posts on The Family right after the first of the year. Until then, I'd like to share pictures and posters that have caught my eye and talk about why each spoke to me.
There is a Christmas song that tells us "It's the most wonderful time of the year. But for many people, this time of the year is a time of sadness. Some reasons are apparent, such as the recent tragedy in Connecticut, but others are hidden. People do cry behind closed doors and face personal struggles we can hardly imagine.
My maternal grandmother was always sad at Christmas time. I'll admit, I would rather spend the holidays with my paternal grandparents, who were cheerful souls. It was a downer to have Grandma looking so glum all the time. In all of my growing up years, I remember only one Christmas spent at her house. I often wondered why she couldn't even try to be excited about Christmas coming. I was almost an adult before I understood the reason: my mother's only brother died in December and was buried on Christmas Eve. Things only became worse when my mom's father followed him in death, also in December. She had suffered serious bouts with clinical depression for years afterwards. I wish I had understood this when I was a child. I would like to go back and sit down beside her and tell her I loved her, no matter what.
So as we set out to prepare for a joyous Christmas season, let us be mindful of those who struggle to find joy. Let us take time to reach out to the sad and the weary; the sick and the lonely. James tells us this: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1: 27)
Let us walk among men as Scrooge learned to do and reach out to those who seem strong and perhaps are strong, yet who still cry alone.
Text © Gebara Education, 2012
Poster downloaded from Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment