Christmas is
a time that brings good news of great joy to all people. However, as one of my
favorite pastors likes to say, we live between the already and the not yet.
(shout out to Pastor Brian at Living Word Community Church) Christ has already
come to Earth to offer us salvation and yet the power of that redemption has
not yet permeated every ounce of this earthly existence, and won’t until Christ
returns. For that reason, many people experience Christmas with a mix of
emotions—this is certainly true for me. As a reminder to all of us that we
rarely know the full story and need to remember to be sensitive to those around
us, I will share a bit of my story that makes the “not yet” feel so evident
during this season.
In August
1993 I headed to Boston for my sophomore year of college. Just one month later,
I was driving back home for my brother’s funeral. He had died in a car
accident. He would have turned 19 years old on December 2 of that year. Strike
one against the Christmas season. A few days ago I wrote 12-2-14 on the whiteboard
in my classroom. More than thinking about the fact that there were only 15
school days until Christmas vacation (yay!), I was taken aback by that date and
found myself wondering what Reggie would have been like at age 40.
That same
Christmas season of 1993, I returned home from college for Christmas break to
learn that my beloved Pop-pop was in the hospital. He was only 62 years old but
the artificial valve he had placed in his heart 10 years before was failing. He
chose to go through with the repair operation as he felt that was his best hope
of survival. The operation was on December 23 and, though the doctor did all he
could, Pop-pop never woke up. I remember so vividly that last night of
visitation before the surgery. Well-meaning individuals were caroling through
the halls of the hospital and I wanted no parts of their joy. On Christmas Eve,
our family huddled in a waiting area and decided to allow Pop-pop to choose
where he would spend Christmas that year, instructing the medical staff to turn
off the machines that were keeping him alive. Pop-pop stayed with us until
January 4, 1994. Strike two against the Christmas season.
I want to be
clear that I do not blame God for any of this loss. Our world is broken and our
time on this planet is finite. I firmly believe that God grieves with us in our
feelings of loss just as He celebrates with us in our feelings of joy. After all,
we were created in His image and that includes the fact that we are emotional
beings. However, the emotions of the past are often triggered to the forefront
of our minds by the circumstances and seasons of life.
So if you encounter
someone this holiday season that seems distracted, or melancholy, irritable, or
sad, remember that you may not know their whole story. Share a smile or maybe a
hug if that is appropriate. Better yet, say a prayer that Jesus will make His
presence evidently known in the “not yet.”
