You know, there's something special about a season that revolves around the idea of giving and generosity.
Of course, this often culminates as all of the glitz and glamour of gifts, certain kinds of holiday events, and suggesting that there is a 'right way to do Christmas.'
However, I think most of us know this year will be different, and the stress of it all is probably not going to serve everyone so well. It's hard to ask people to be alone...it's even harder to ask people to be alone during a time where the tradition is to be together, in the warmth of laughter and good cheer. And slogans of being together while being apart ring hollow to those of us closer to the edge of the abyss.
We're not built to be alone, to be isolated. Humans were made to be together. We just want to be able to walk past another person in a grocery aisle without wondering if we are following the correct set of arrows up or down the aisles. And none of us have the patience required as we are constantly being called to task for not being good enough for other's people's standards. We are weak that way.
A time like Christmas is not about being enough. Indeed, if the message of Christianity is that the king of kings was not good for the inside of an inn, but only good enough for a rather drafty barn, then we all must know the feeling of that cold right now. The gifts we are given at this time are strange, and perhaps not the gifts or celebrations we were expecting.
I hope that you take time this season to look inward for peace, for the stillness of a winter's night, for a warm heart that loves those around you. My goal this season is not to replicate Christmases of times past, but to hope, and to hope for the betterment of those who are still here after such a difficult year.
