Christmas is just 8 days away, and for many families in Connecticut, it will be a different Christmas, a hard Christmas. To see the unopened gifts under the tree intended for a son, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a father, a husband who isn’t there to open them. To see the reminders of a life taken too soon all around you, and to know that you won’t see them again in this life here on Earth. Bitterness, anger, hurt, longing, pain – emotions surfacing at the mention of a name, a place, an event, seeing a photo, a drawing, going to a place special to them.
I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this must be for everyone affected directly or indirectly in Connecticut. My thoughts and prayers go out to every family there, including the family of the shooter and the victims. Even for those of us just hearing about these events, we are touched, and this will be a different Christmas for us also. As we hold our family closer in light of this tragedy, may we remember to take nothing for granted every day, not just on Christmas.
It was a day like any other when some shepherds were watching their flocks on a hillside near Bethlehem. I’d imagine the shepherds were getting tired, some may even have been grumbling about how long of a day it had been, how they wanted another job – they were tired of watching smelly sheep all day.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
A different “Christmas” for these shepherds, too. This day was filled with joy and thanksgiving – for a Savior had come, Emmanuel, God with us. Even amidst the pain and the sadness and darkness that is in this world, let us proclaim Jesus’ coming, his birth in the manger, loud for all to hear. Let us be a light in this dark world, when all around us seems to crumble, let us stand on the solid Rock. So yes, this will be a different Christmas: one where His Glory and Majesty are praised even through the sorrow.