Happy Holyday to You!

12/22/23

Merry Christmas, (Belated) Happy Hanukkah, and/or Blessed Kwanza!

How are you doing during this Holy Season? Are you celebrating with gratitude, anticipating fun times with family and/or friends? Or wishing you could be more ‘joyful’? Maybe wanting to just get through it, or usually don’t celebrate it at all?

If you are struggling, know many people DO understand and care (including me!). If you need someone to talk to there is a list of support phone numbers, text and/or chat lines on the home page of Pearlunchained.com. 

If you’d like prayer there are a couple of prayer lines listed, too, and if you’d feel comfortable leaving a request for us at ‘Pearls Unchained’ to pray for you please let us know in the comment section at the bottom of this post. We’d be honored to do that for you. Your request (including name and email address) will be kept strictly confidential unless you say it’s ok to post.

I’ll be honest (as usual :)), for reasons mentioned in previous year’s posts, this season can be a difficult one for me. I’m a Christian who fully and gratefully believes Jesus Christ was born in order to redeem us. I KNOW we are forgiven (if we sincerely ask) and have an increasingly amazing life because of Him. 

Every year I tell myself ‘next year I will fully embrace the miracle and joy of what this holiday is about’, yet haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet. I end up wondering ‘why not????’ (Aarrrgghhh!)

This year’s been particularly difficult for various reasons, a couple of which have been mentioned in several recent posts. 

Have also been making some changes in my life, and the insecurity of where they’re taking me and what all will need to be done to facilitate them can be a bit overwhelming at times.

With having been able to release the need to obsess abut E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G so much (hallelujah!) I’m able to feel more, too, and am processing a deeper pain of what happened during this season throughout childhood.

I’m so very grateful for the friends who have asked me to join them on some fun excursions, whether swimming at the ‘Y’ or going to see the play “Elf, The Musical” and taking a stained glass ornament class. Got to relax and laugh a bit! 

That’s one of the best things I’m learning right now: Yes, there may times of emotional struggles or grief, but we can still have pockets of joy mingled in. Not every moment HAS to be a dirge, you know? (What a relief to give myself permission to not wallow 24/7!!! :))

Also so grateful for the Sisterhood of my Bible study group.

Had a bit of an emotional melt down with them the other day. Was trying to figure out how to escape without them noticing before the waterworks began but didn’t quite make it. They’ve been amazing with checking up and letting me know they care ever since. One even dropped by my house just to bless me with a hug! 

One of the harder things I’ve been dealing with lately is thinking I’m no one’s priority, and never have been. I know some of that is due to my own (past, I hope!) inability to receive a decent person’s repeated attempts to show me he (or rather, they – there’ve been a several good people over the years who’ve tried) cared. It’s frustrating (and depressing) when, in hindsight, I can see what I doubted too much to receive.

Anyway, because of the Bible study I found a passage in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 9, v 2-7 that reminds me of why Jesus was born and it gives me so much hope.

(I’ll share that hope with you, if you need it too, ’n k? :)) 

Isaiah was a prophet and lived around 750 B.C. He was given this revelation approximately 8 centuries before Christ was born. 

I was allowed to read it to the ladies at Bible study and I asked them to consider which of these descriptions of Christ they already knew and received, and which one(s) were they asking to be born into their hearts this Christmas. 

It’s funny, all who responded mentioned ‘Redeemer’ as what they’d like to fully receive. For me, it’s ‘Prince of Peace’.

What about you? 

Here’s the passage:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as the say of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

I am so ready to receive this!! I pray to let myself, and I pray if needed, you do, too. 

As with every previous year, gotta play some Trans Siberian Orchestra. I LOVE this band but actually forgot about them until now. (Oops!) Have been blessed to see them in concert three times (so far!:)). If you like your music with a bit o’ oomph, you love them, too. This is “Carol Of the Bells.”