Merry Christmas!

I just took my first hour, probably in this whole Christmas season, to just rest a little and actually reflect on Christmas… oh Christmas… such a strange time of year. The festivities, all the food and wine, shopping, getting all dressed up, exchanging gifts, getting text messages from people you haven’t spoken to in a year. The joy and the pain… the happiness and loneliness… It’s weird.
I generally really like Christmas but the reality of it is that it’s a really hard time of year for most people (or maybe this year seems a little worse than most). At my aunts last night I spent some time with my cousins friend who recently separated from her husband, it’s her first time in 11 years not cooking Christmas dinner for the entire family- that’s hard. I had a good cry with my grandma this morning as it’s her first Christmas without my grandpa – ouch. It seems like the reality of our pain, loneliness or dysfunctional families really comes to light at Christmas.

I was just reminded in this hour that we celebrate Christmas today to rejoice in the fact that Jesus came to earth to give us abundant life… but for some people, today is one of the hardest days to remember that… interesting how that happens.

Unrelated to Christmas, I’ve been thinking about this passage all week. It’s Moses talking to God the way I think we often do and God reminded Moses that He has a plan and is on this journey with him… I think we could relate it to Christmas:

Moses said to God, "Look, you tell me, 'Lead this people,' but you don't let me know whom you're going to send with me. You tell me, 'I know you well and you are special to me.' If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans. That way, I will continue being special to you. Don't forget, this is your people, your responsibility." God said, "My presence will go with you. I'll see the journey to the end." (Ex 33:12-14)

So today, may you be reminded and blessed by the fact that God sent his son to join us on our journey. Even if this is a really crappy Christmas for you, God has a plan for your life. From what I’ve experienced, the more I’ve trusted him the more this has been the reality of my journey. I pray that you are truly blessed by Jesus as you remember Him today and commit to trusting Him on this journey.

How Things Change

I keep thinking of blog’s I want to write and just don’t do it… Maybe I’ll just write them all over Christmas with a little less of the ‘moment of inspiration’.

I’ve been thinking the past week or so about how things change. Last week I drove a good 17hrs to Huntsville and back, through the snow, to pick my grandma up. My grandpa died a little less than 6 months ago so this is my grandma’s first Christmas without him, it has been pretty difficult for her. I was thinking the night before I left about how less than 10 years ago my grandparents were driving to Montreal to pick me up and take me to camp or to my first year of college in Ontario… My grandparents were incredibly influential in my life and did a great job of taking good care of me while I was growing up. Now I’m going to pick my grandma up who doesn't drive alone in the snow anymore. Now, I’m taking care of her! How things change… I guess that’s the reality of growing up!