Losing a family member or friend is so hard. It is tough when it happens, and then it is tough for a while afterwards. I have found that many people start to heal, and then the holiday season comes around. Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to magnify and intensify the pain that had subsided. The family dreads getting together because no one wants to look at the empty chair at the table. Avoidance becomes an attractive option just to bury the pain.
Your Christmas may be a different kind of Christmas, just like many other families that have lost someone this year. This will be mine and Bart's first Christmas as adults to experience the pain of missing a loved one during Christmas. We have lost family members as children, but it is different when you're an adult. The pain is more keen and lasting. My Pa-Paw and Bart's Great Grandma "Choo" both passed away within days of each other in May.
There are two verses that are especially helpful,
"Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4
"weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5
If you have lost someone this year like we have, and your Christmas is not going to be the same, remember that the Lord will comfort us. Let's make sure that we are seeking the Lord in prayer to help our families through a time that is uniquely hard. The enemy would love to make us miserable and wallow, but the Lord wants us to look for the joy and praise Him for all of life's moments.
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