Christmastime spells sadness and loneliness for many people. Family issues come to the surface when they've been swept under the rug for 11 months out of the year. You are constantly faced with Norman Rockwell-esque marketing…showing you, painfully and again, that every family but yours is cheery and intact.
I know this feeling. I know the feeling of disappointment and want. But, I am also determined to have a grace-saturated Christmas this year–choosing to see the blessed joy of the season and the best in my family. They are each wonderful people–even if we don't always work together perfectly. So, it's time to lay aside the small differences, the tiny (and not so tiny) infractions we've dealt to each other, the let-down when you realize family is flawed. It's time to allow God to work on the wounds of my heart…knowing full well that He promises to do so.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit. –Psalm 147:3-5