‘Tis The Season: God with us
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.”
A prophetic vision of God’s peaceful realm (Isaiah 11:6)
Friday: Something I’d rather not think about
We continue to journey toward a holy day for Christians. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, not because December 25 is his birthday, but because it is important to celebrate God’s incarnational presence among us. I invite you to meditate on various realities of what it means to sense that God is with us.
As you may know, I spend time people who participate in Bereavement Support Groups. There will be children and adults who have experienced significant losses in their lives. For some of them the losses came during the last year; for others the losses happened up to twelve years ago; for each of them, dealing with the loss is painful and difficult to this very day!
They won’t celebrate this season with the same kind of joy that many have. Their lives are not as complete as they want them to be. Death has left a darkness within that doesn’t diminish with the glimmer of holiday lights. They are longing for compassionate friends who will reach out to them where they are; friends who will take some time to be reverent and silent; friends who will be present with them and the spirit of their loved one.
If you are aware of a grieving, bereaved soul this season, maybe you could take some time to be with them on “their turf”. If you do, you might find out a bit more about the peaceful place that today’s Scripture verse depicts and you may be blessed with a little bit more understanding about the little child who leads us to the realm of peace.
Have a blessed week of preparation for the holiday.
--Ben Keckler
12.21.07
Showing posts with label Sadness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sadness. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Daily Devotions - Monday 12.17.07
Keeping Things in Perspective
“Why are you cast down, O my soul
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
My help and my God.”
--A song of God’s people
We begin another week of caregiving, a week where festivity and celebration are the primary theme. One challenge we face in doing the work we do is this: the season calls us to merriment and the realities of our work take us to places where folks are not feeling merry at all. A member of a Bereavement Support group did a spin-off on the David Letterman theme of “10 Reasons…” She titles it “Top 10 Reasons Christmas Sucks” and I share it with you to keep things in perspective:
10. Family get-togethers just make it more obvious that someone is missing.
9. Every time you go shopping, you see things your loved one would like.
8. Every ornament and decoration you get out has a memory connected to it.
7. There is one less stocking to be hung.
6. Everywhere you go, you hear the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas.”
5. Your cheeks get chapped when you cry in cold weather.
4. The arrival of Christmas means another New Year is one week away.
3. No matter how good you are, Santa won’t bring you what you really want.
2. None of those “holly jolly” people can understand your feeling.
And the #1 reason Christmas sucks is:
Every new holiday is a reminder that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to!
The author of this is a really wonderful person of faith, dealing with the realities of her 21-year-old son’s death in an auto accident on a Thanksgiving Day several years ago. May God be with you as you experience the tensions of caregiving this week.
--Ben Keckler
12.17.07
“Why are you cast down, O my soul
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
My help and my God.”
--A song of God’s people
We begin another week of caregiving, a week where festivity and celebration are the primary theme. One challenge we face in doing the work we do is this: the season calls us to merriment and the realities of our work take us to places where folks are not feeling merry at all. A member of a Bereavement Support group did a spin-off on the David Letterman theme of “10 Reasons…” She titles it “Top 10 Reasons Christmas Sucks” and I share it with you to keep things in perspective:
10. Family get-togethers just make it more obvious that someone is missing.
9. Every time you go shopping, you see things your loved one would like.
8. Every ornament and decoration you get out has a memory connected to it.
7. There is one less stocking to be hung.
6. Everywhere you go, you hear the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas.”
5. Your cheeks get chapped when you cry in cold weather.
4. The arrival of Christmas means another New Year is one week away.
3. No matter how good you are, Santa won’t bring you what you really want.
2. None of those “holly jolly” people can understand your feeling.
And the #1 reason Christmas sucks is:
Every new holiday is a reminder that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to!
The author of this is a really wonderful person of faith, dealing with the realities of her 21-year-old son’s death in an auto accident on a Thanksgiving Day several years ago. May God be with you as you experience the tensions of caregiving this week.
--Ben Keckler
12.17.07
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