When Happy and Joyful Are Hard to Find~

December is supposed to be 

a happy month, right? 

The Christmas season, joyful. 

But, what happens when 

happy and joyful 

decide to fly south for the winter? 

What do you do 

when heartache and grief 

consume your heart 

and tears, not smiles,
are seen on your face?

This was me, several Decembers ago. 

And, truth be told, 

this is still me in so many ways 

(yet for so many different reasons) 

now. 

If this is you, this December - 

read on my friend. 

Read on:

************

While others have been decking the halls,

baking sugar cookies,

hanging stockings,

and writing out Christmas cards,

I have been grappling to hold onto 

the joy that is synonymous 

with this blessed season.

On December 17, my precious friend Ruthie passed away, 

leaving behind two children.

The very next day my little dog, Sally, 

who has been in my life for over fifteen years
became ill and then passed away 

two days later.

Tucked between these two deaths was

my birthday and the anniversary 

of my father's death, nine years ago. 

(Yes - my precious daddy passed away 

in the late night hours of my birthday.)

Laughter has been hard to find 

and tears, a constant companion.

And yet,

in the midst of it all,

I have come to understand, 

as never before,

the priceless treasure we were given
that night in Bethlehem 

so long ago.

That tiny babe - 

God's own son -
left the splendor of Heaven 

to come to a world 

that despised and rejected Him.

That tiny little one - 

wrapped in swaddling clothes - 

the Son of man,

was born to die, 

conquering death once and for all.

The Baby Jesus, - 

Immanuel, God with us,

entered our world,

so that one day,

we could enter His:

A world where there is 

no sorrow or crying, 

no sickness or death.

The joy of Christmas isn't contained 

to the manger.

It extends all the way to Calvary.

Death is the very reason Christ came.

Christmas reminds us sin has a cost
and God has a love that knows no limit. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." (John 3:16)

The promise of a Deliverer -

the love of a God 

who would send His own Son -
the blessed HOPE we have
in and through Christ Jesus our Lord -

this is the JOY of Christmas.

This is what keeps us wiping our tears 

 while all the while singing
"Joy to the world the Lord has come".

This is the hope I cling to, 

even when my heart is broken.

And, this is the hope you can cling to, too.~♥

~Stacy