Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
When I started to make the challenging transition from childhood to adulthood, I also started feeling angsty at Christmastime. I wanted Christmas to be a happy holiday, but that didn’t feel possible anymore. Nothing felt the same as it had felt when I was a little kid—giddy to buy gifts, make gifts, and (without a doubt) get gifts. What happened to all those Christmas feels that I had when I was a kid?
Christmas is coming, which means a lot of smiles, laughter, and general Christmas cheer. But this year feels different to you. This year feels…hard. You’re experiencing a jumble of emotions: "I’m supposed to be excited about Christmas, aren’t I? Why do I feel anxious, overwhelmed, and exhausted? What’s wrong with me? This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but I’m ready for it to be over."
You were sure that this was going to be your year for finding true love. You were determined that you wouldn’t spend this Christmas alone. You thought you would definitely have someone to kiss under the mistletoe in 2020. But you wonder if you’ve lost your chance at finding someone to spend the rest of your life with.
I know how icky our emotions can seem at Christmastime. They bubble up and bubble over, and we panic. We don’t know what to do with these uncomfortable feelings, so we do anything and everything to not think about them. To brush them to the back of our minds. To forget they exist. And that seems to sort of work. At least temporarily. Until we are completely and utterly alone.
So. Christmas isn’t what you expected this year. Instead of feeling happy, you feel unexpectedly upset. You’re not the only one who is facing a challenge this Christmas.
As a young adult, Christmas isn’t the same. Entering the Christmas season means I’ll be forced to face all of the difficult things that I don’t want to face. Who knew Christmas could be so ugly? Why have I—and perhaps we—transformed a wonderful holiday into a dreadful time of year?
Today is such an exciting day because it is the day when Christ was born over 2,000 years ago. God sent Him to the earth to be born, live a sinless life, die on the cross, and rise again to pay for all our sins. When we choose to accept His offer of salvation by trusting in His death, resurrection, and complete payment for our sins, we belong to Him.
It’s not sinful for you to feel un-Christmassy. It’s okay if you believe you’ve lost your Christmas spirit. You can’t force yourself to feel a certain way, but you can force yourself to focus on the truth about Christmas. And if you’ve lost your Christmas spirit, maybe you’ve been looking for it in the wrong place
It really doesn’t make sense that we worry about Christmas. After all, the angel told Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds not to be afraid (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:30, Luke 2:10). Christmas only becomes fear-full when we begin to focus on ourselves and what we can get out of it. Can you relate to any of the 3 greatest fears we have about Christmas?
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 