Leaning into the Light

Our souls yearn for the light of Christmas.

During our sermon last Sunday, our pastor pointed out that Christmas is a time when our joys seem much brighter than usual. He also pointed out that our sorrows are much deeper. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that statement.

Many people feel much happier at Christmas than any other season. Sometimes it’s the lights or the hustle and bustle. Sometimes it’s knowing that family will be coming together once again. People just smile more during the Christmas season.

The other side of course, is that people who are mourning a loss, feel it much more deeply during the Christmas season than any other time. We become deeply aware of what we don’t have. We become deeply aware of what’s missing

I thought about my pastor’s statement long after the sermon was over. Maybe the reason that we feel everything so deeply during the Christmas season is that it taps into our spiritual side. We know that we are spiritual and physical beings, but we tend to give much less thought or attention to our spiritual selves than we do our physical selves.

We think about the spiritual when we are sitting in church and possibly when we pray, but other than that, for most of us, it gets very little thought.

But, Christmas is huge in the spiritual realm. It’s the single moment in time when Heaven touched earth and God became one of us. Angels sang. Prophecies were fulfilled. Darkness began to unravel. How could spiritual beings not feel the spiritual?

And as bright as the story is, darkness will not go down without a fight. We have the luxury of knowing how the story ends; Jesus is the light and the light wins. But, the darkness will try to claim what it can.

So, perhaps during this time of year, when the barrier between the physical and the spiritual feels so much thinner, we need to give more attention to our spiritual side. We need to remember that what our weary souls long for the most is the peace and joy that can only come from Jesus.

Nothing else we seek will satisfy that need. Nothing else we try to create will truly end the oppressive darkness.

If we find ourselves particularly joyous this year, then we should give prayers of thanks. If we find ourselves in despair this year, we need to truly open our hearts and souls to the truth of the baby in the manger. Joy does not come from perfect Pinterest pictures, or Facebook posts, or even from the perfect family.

Perfection does not exist on this side of Heaven, no matter what anyone tries to sell us. Joy comes from Jesus and when we truly accept that on a spiritual level, darkness doesn’t stand a chance.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂