I like the Hallmark channel for the same reasons I like pretty Instagram pictures. It hides the hard struggles. We can sit and watch a pretty scene while we rest from the trial and pains from our very real lives. There is the slight danger of a comparison trap, but hasn’t everyone caught on that life isn’t going to always resemble Christmas Town, USA? While life isn’t perfect and our hearts sometimes crack, it can still be beautiful.
By the time Christmas Day arrives, I hope to have every single cheesy Christmas movie watched. Even though I will inwardly cringe at some (most) of them, they will overflow my reindeer antler cup with the Holiday Spirit. Just because real life holidays are not always Hallmark, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them. Dare I say perhaps even learn from them?
Christmas season is currently the sweetest season for me. However, there have been harder years of loss that haven’t been as sweet, if that is the case for you I offer you this;
“Give grace to your situation. May we see our sorrow, grief, and difficulties as they are, without trying to extract meaning or closure before their time has come.”
Be gentle with yourself, and give sadness room to breathe even as you wait for joy to come again. And know that the Prince of Peace will sit with you in your sadness, until you are ready to give it to Him to help heal.