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A Lonely Christmas
Posted By Janice
…I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.
Be with me now.
Breath of Heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of Heaven… -Excerpt from Breath of Heaven, by Amy Grant
This weekend, people are beginning to gather. Travelers determined to be with family and friends for “The Holidays” crowd the airports and highways. In the malls and grocery stores, shoppers frantically pick up the trimmings for the celebrations. It is the time for being together.
But it’s not happiness for everyone. For every warm welcome and friendly kiss, there is an empty seat and a lonely heart. The holidays can sting.
If you are grieving this Christmas, if this season accents loss or loneliness for you, perhaps you will find comfort when you meditate on the first Christmas.
It wasn’t celebrated around a dining room table, covered with steaming dishes and a succulent turkey. There wasn’t a house filled with family and friends. It wasn’t even in December.
No – the first Christmas was a time of joy set in the midst of suffering and loneliness. The cruelties of the human condition – exhaustion, hunger, loneliness, want, pain – this was what Mary and Joseph faced the night Jesus was born.
I can’t imagine how Mary must have felt. Young and terrified, she faced birth in a dark and dirty stable, without her mother or other women she trusted. She had no comforts to ease her, no home to welcome her child. But there was still joy – a joy that could not be touched by suffering.
The joy of Christmas is God loving us and saving us. It is not found in pretty packages and perfect memories. It is not found in friends and family.
So if you are holding back tears right now, rejoice as you let them fall. Cling to that first Christmas – a promise of salvation.
The first worshipers didn’t know what that salvation would be, the promise of it did not erase their present trials, but they were filled with inexplicable joy. The shepherd’s feet still burned under the straps of their crude sandals, their bodies still ached from their journey as they set out to return to their lonely fields. Mary and Joseph still faced days and nights with a newborn and no home in which to bathe, care and feed him. Instead of going home to their families, they fled in the night and became refugees in a foreign land.
There was still suffering for each of them. But they had a promise – and so do we.
I love Amy Grant’s song “Breath of Heaven.” I found a version of it on YouTube that has clips from the movie Jesus of Nazareth set to the original Amy Grant audio. I hope it blesses you.
Dec 23rd, 2006
this is awesome..passing it on to everyone. Thank you
Merry Christmas…. need to remember the reason for the season!!!!!!
The holidays does bring pain for a lot of people. Personally, I am thankful I have more to smile about than I have to mourn. I have more joy than sorrow. I know this is just another stepping stone in a very long path that He has laid before me. And most importantly, I know I don’t walk this path alone. Thank you for keeping those who are hurting in your thoughts during this time. I know next year I will look back and remember the pain I was in, and rejoice that I have moved a year beyond it, one step at a time, holding His hand.
Thank you Janice for this great message. I dont personally have anything that makes me sad this christmas, and I am very thankful for the friends and family that surround me, but I do know that others are experiencing pain and heartbreak at this moment, and I am thankful that you have brought them to our attention.
I am also very thankful for your friendship and your contributions here at Faith Lifts- and for overlooking hte fact that I woke you up at 6am
-H
What a blessing this was, Janice. Thank you so much for sharing this with us and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
Beautiful song
The whole thing wouldn’t play for me, though. So, true about this being a time when people tend to get depressed. My mother-in-law was killed in a car accident 6 years ago tomorrow. I always wonder what runs through my husband’s mind on this day.
Thank you for the inspiration and the reminder that things could always be a lot worse.
My site is down periodically all the time. I’m working on getting it transferred to a new host. Just so you know 
Beautifully written and properly focused. Thanks Janet.
Janice,
This is beautiful!
Blessings to you and your family as you celebrate!
Merry Christmas!
Janice - this is my favorite contemporary Christmas song. It makes me bawl like a baby…Thank you for sharing…
You know what — if you read my post “Merry Christmas, Everyone” tomorrow, I had the same thoughts about Mary. She was so young - lonely (without her mom) giving birth to the Son of God. I think of this often, how she must have felt…
Merry Christmas, Janice — to you and yours.
Thanks for this beautiful and senstive post. “Breath of Heaven” is performed at our church every Christmas, and I LOVE it. To see it paired with footage from The Nativity is tremendous. Merry Christmas! :~)
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you for this wonderful gathering place you have created here on the web.
Blessings,
Karla
Thank you for this! This was my first Christmas alone and it was hard…