Tidings of Comfort

A loved one and I were chatting the other day about the challenges that we have been facing. Our discussion then turned to so many people close to us who have been battling difficulties on a compounding basis. As we spoke of so much grief, heartache and trouble, my loved one shook her head and sighed. “It is as if everyone has been touched”, she lamented.

As my family prepares for what we know will be an emotionally difficult Christmas, I can’t help but think about just how many people are ending their year much differently than how it began… Just how many people who, like me, usually love this holiday season with a childlike wonder but who now seem to have lost that spark.

I am once again reminded that amidst merriment and laughter, there can also be sadness and grief.

They don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And I take comfort in that.

And so, in those moments
when the most wonderful time of the year feels weighed down and heavy
when the twinkling of the lights brightens the room but not your spirit
when the melodies of old fill the air but not your heart
remember that there is joy to be found in hard places if we search for it.

In those moments
when there is grief in between merry greetings
when tidings of comfort become more and more necessary
when even the fullness of time will not lessen the sting of the empty chair
remember that the darkness must yield to the glimmers of hope that manage to slip through the cracks.

And, perhaps the most important reminder of all
is that we don’t have to wait until the tears have all run out before we can smile again.
And that even though that which has been lost may never be returned, we can purpose in our hearts to cherish that which still remains.

In the midst of grief, there can be gladness.
In the midst of tears, there can be laughter.
In the midst of loss, there can be hope.

Our feelings are big and they are heavy and they can be all-consuming at times, but they don’t have to be carried alone.
You are not alone. We’ve all been touched.

And, perhaps, as we try with all our might to look for the hope shining through the cracks and the joy buried beneath the weight of it all, we might, in turn, extend tidings of comfort to those looking on.

Because grief and hope aren’t mutually exclusive.

And I take comfort in that.

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Friends, may joy, hope and comfort reach you exactly where you are.
May peace guard your heart and mind.
And may love carry you wherever you go.

From my heart to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas.