For many, Christmas came early this year. By that I mean, even some of my die hard “Christmas doesn’t begin until after Thanksgiving” friends, were decorating their tree the first week of November. Like in The Holderness Family video, we’ve all wanted to believe 

“Christmas will make everything better.”

A little red and green comfort decorated with twinkle lights, feels like a balm on the ache that has been this season. Only now that we’re officially into December, even Christmas is feeling different this year. So many of us are having to let go of our usual traditions and even time with family, while clinging to what we can of this great holiday. Each change of plans is a further reminder that Corona isn’t over, that

We are all waiting.

Only, this isn’t the first time. For some reason, the end of the year combined with all the Holiday Cheer seems to call out the ache in all of us. The longings we have for something better. 

Christmas coupled with New Years, has often been a season where we’ve poignantly felt the things we were waiting for in our lives. For me, some years, it’s been the reminder my career wasn’t what I’d like it to be. For a few Christmases it was the longing to be in a relationship when it seemed everyone else had already paired up. 

For some reason, the end of the year combined with all the Holiday Cheer seems to call out the ache in all of us.

As much as we’d like Christmas to be an arrival—our happy ending—it’s the continuation of a journey. It’s the reminder that the Savior who once came to earth to make us right with Him, will one day come back to make everything right. It’s the very real reality that, 

We are in the in between.

We are in the middle of discovering what we want, and it coming to fruition. We are somewhere in the story of humanity. Too far in to be the beginning, yet we still can’t see the end. We are in between the moment when the word “pandemic” was suddenly applied to our lifetime, and the moment when there will be a cure. And in all of this, 

Christmas isn’t the answer we’re looking for—it’s the reminder.

All the delicious baked goods, beautifully wrapped gifts, decorated trees, and twinkle lights  aren’t actually what we have been waiting for. We all know it’s true. The brightness they bring is always temporary. It’s the hope Christmas brings, we’ve been wanting.

Christmas is the reminder that no matter how dark our world becomes, there is always hope.

Christmas is the reminder that no matter how dark our world becomes, there is always hope. Because just as God promised the Israelites a Savior, that Savior has promised to come back for us. One day, our world will no longer be broken and there will be no more tears. Until then, each year, Christmas reminds us,

We have hope.

Our situation is temporary. All the painful, tragic things that have happened in 2020 aren’t signs God has abandoned us. Rather they are reminders of how badly we need Him to help us through our day to day lives. Because the Savior who said He’d come back for us, also said He is with us always. 

Friends, all of us are waiting. 

We are all carrying a heaviness into this season that we have never known before. We are waiting for it to end. But as we approach Christmas Day, this season whispers— 

God is with us.

We are not alone.

Where do you feel alone this season?

Where do you need to be reminded there is hope?

Have you too, struggled with finding focus since the Pandemic? Are you having a hard time feeling productive because you feel mentally exhausted? Sign up for my email list today, and receive a free copy of my Six Ways to Find Focus in a Pandemic. It will help you find your footing again.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash