As I arrived back at my parent’s house after spending a week in Oregon with my girlfriend’s family, I worked a couple of hours to finish up the day, and then as I left the room, I felt a certain joy and skip in my step as I left the room. Perhaps thinking about all that God has blessed me with. Perhaps joyful to have a warm home with people I love to come back to after having a great vacation. Perhaps realizing the time of year it is and the joy that comes with that.
As I was skipping though, I realized that this time of year is often not joyous for many people. Or at least not the same kind of joy or excitement. Everyone experiences it a little differently…as do they experience all seasons differently than I do. Everyone’s unique. Yay!
You may have kids who this Christmas are getting all the gifts that they could ever dream of, you may have kids who won’t receive anything this Christmas. In fact, some kids this Christmas will likely starve to death on Christmas day. Some people my age, like me, may have a bunch of loving family that they spend multiple days with and a cushy job that lets them work remotely over the holidays. Others my age may have experienced a recent loss of a loved one and no real family to turn to, or perhaps an international student that doesn’t have family nearby anyway.
Everyone is going to experience different emotions based on their circumstances. Rarely do I, nor I think most people, think outside themselves. Especially in this season. But maybe this year can be a year that we reach out to those who don’t have anywhere to turn and give them some joy.
The news of the birth of Christ came as great joy and surprise to some shepherds in a field over 2000 years ago, the news of his life, death, and resurrection is even greater news to anyone who will listen.