Good vs. Bad
I love Christmas! I love everything about it. It's a season where people think of others' needs and wants and go out of their way to select that special gift for the ones they love. I love the sounds of Christmas, the wonderful old carols that are so familiar to all of us waft through the air when you shop at the malls, or turn on your radio or your stereo at home. The colors of Christmas are bright and shining on the streets, on houses, on rooftops, in the shops, in the yards all over the islands here. I love the smell of Christmas--the smell of pine from the trees and wreaths, the cinnamon smell from the oven as you bake cookies, the potpourri simmering on the stove, the candles flickering on the tables. I'm like a child in my giddiness and anticipation of Christmas Eve when we attend our church's candlelight service and I can't wait for everyone to awake on Christmas morning so we can gather together around the tree to open our gifts. It's a season meant for joy and peace and goodwill, for family love, and time to remember and to give thanks to God for His unspeakable gift of His Son.
However, I've noticed the flip side to Christmas as well which is very dark and sad. It's the time of year when suicides are at their highest, where people act out their frustrations because of finances, or marriage breakups, or use of drugs or out of loneliness and fear. Yesterday my son's truck was broken into in the wee early morning hours. We don't know the person's intent---was he trying to steal the truck, or steal something inside, or siphoning gas from it? My son's truck alarm went off and scared the perpetrator away before much damage was done, but it was an intrusion in my son's life at Christmas that shouldn't have happened. Crime at Christmas----a reality that is with us as humans. We can look at the situation as a real bummer and let it rob us of joy, or we can commit it to Christ and ask Him to work out His will in the perpetrator's life and leave it in God's hands after following the dutiful obligation of reporting the crime to the police. We can't let Satan rob us of the joy of the Lord. There are so many reasons for us to be grateful about this situation---that my son or his family was not harmed physically and that the perpetrator didn't accomplish his purposes by stealing the truck. Our instincts are to lash out---God says "love your enemies." Wow!
May you experience only the good of Christmas!
Sandy
However, I've noticed the flip side to Christmas as well which is very dark and sad. It's the time of year when suicides are at their highest, where people act out their frustrations because of finances, or marriage breakups, or use of drugs or out of loneliness and fear. Yesterday my son's truck was broken into in the wee early morning hours. We don't know the person's intent---was he trying to steal the truck, or steal something inside, or siphoning gas from it? My son's truck alarm went off and scared the perpetrator away before much damage was done, but it was an intrusion in my son's life at Christmas that shouldn't have happened. Crime at Christmas----a reality that is with us as humans. We can look at the situation as a real bummer and let it rob us of joy, or we can commit it to Christ and ask Him to work out His will in the perpetrator's life and leave it in God's hands after following the dutiful obligation of reporting the crime to the police. We can't let Satan rob us of the joy of the Lord. There are so many reasons for us to be grateful about this situation---that my son or his family was not harmed physically and that the perpetrator didn't accomplish his purposes by stealing the truck. Our instincts are to lash out---God says "love your enemies." Wow!
May you experience only the good of Christmas!
Sandy
posted by Sandy Fewell at 8:46 AM
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