A Different Kind of Christmas: Grief, Grace, and the Presence of Christ

As I write this, I know that Christmas will be vastly different this year. My mom’s earthly journey came to an end on October 13. I had traveled to Ohio for a surprise visit at the independent living facility we had moved her into in August and it’s as if her body and spirit said, “Donna’s home. It’s time.” Less than 48 hours later she was with Jesus. That’s not the Christmas I was expecting this year but what a tremendous gift for her!

While my parents never decked the house out with lights, garland or other decorations, my mom’s love language was food. She would spread out a feast complete with at least three pies and other desserts. After I moved away, she never asked me what gifts I was buying for our children, but what I would be feeding them. To this day, I think that many of my children’s memories of Christmas will revolve around food as I bake and cook throughout the season. This apple didn’t fall far from the tree. My mom would often start asking me about my Christmas menu on the first week of December! Sometimes, her insistence in knowing what I was cooking for the upcoming Christmas meal would aggravate me. “It’s four weeks away”, I would think. But this year I’m already missing those conversations.

Our son, our last to graduate from high school, is serving with Youth with a Mission and will be far away this Christmas. He was the one who always helped me decorate the tree and inside the house and joyfully put up the outdoor decorations. But Christmas will be different this year. And that’s okay. It may be different for you too. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. This season for me, as it may be for you, is more pensive than outwardly celebratory. And that’s okay. Like Mary, we can treasure all of these things in our hearts.

Christmas might be different for me and for you, but we can still remember all that God has done for us and our families. We can reflect on the joy of our salvation. We can celebrate Jesus, the One who came as a babe in that manger so long ago to seek and save the lost. His birth is still the greatest gift the world was ever given. He is “God with us.” We can enjoy our family and friends, enjoy the memory of those who aren’t with us, and enjoy a conversation with those who are far away. And though sadness may sweep over us this Christmas, we can rejoice that a Savior has been born who understands our pain and heartache. A Savior has been born who comforts us and gives us peace.  A Savior has been born who has made it possible for us to be with Him in Heaven someday and to be reunited with all our loved ones who declared Him as Savior and Lord.

Christmas will be different.  But that’s okay. A Savior has been born to us who is Christ the Lord!