Waiting for Christmas: the ache

Some days the ache seems deeper than others; do you know it?  The feeling of emptiness when all the hustle and bustle does not fill the void inside of us.  And it can't.  True, Christmas can bring joy and meaning, and all sorts of happy memories, but for many, it brings sadness.  I think of two families who are experiencing cancer at this season, and for them, I ache.  I think of the families and friends that do not know Christ, and I also ache for them.  I find myself aching for estranged relationships to be mended, for the brokenness of sin to be erased within and outside of us.  This world is decaying, and for me, happy times, when the birds are singing and all appears to be well with the world....can bring a deeper ache.  For it reminds me that this is not all there is...there is more...

Today I am reminded that the hope of Christ, come as a child, points us to our Eternal Home and the joy we will find there with Him, worshipping around the Throne.  When all the packages are unwrapped and the wonder of Christmas has faded, that Hope will remain, and it is an anchor for my soul.  I pray that we are all able to fix our eyes on the joyful union we will have when Christ returns....and it is my desire that you, dear reader, will experience a taste of that sure and certain hope of Eternal life....today, this Christmas, and in the year to come.  For truly, that is all we can cling to.

Update:  Great addition to the theme of this post found on one of my favorite blogs here.  Be encouraged, if this holiday is hard for you....even in the darkest of situations....there is always hope.

Hebrews 6:18-20  (HCSB)

¹⁸ so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.  ¹⁹ We have this [hope]—like a sure and firm anchor of the soul—that enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. ²⁰ Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner,  because He has become a "high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." 

Be blessed, 
Ruth