Not Always the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

11/30/21

i had another post up for today, one that was actually light hearted. But it’ll have to wait ’til next week because something else came up that became a priority . . .

I just heard about the shooting that happened at the high school I graduated from and can’t stop crying. I’m reposting something written last year.  Although you good people already know this, I feel a compulsion to iterate:  Please be kind, you never know when kindness might influence another to keep them from doing something they can never take back. 

A full circle moment is happening because a friend (my Sister Of Spirit) and I reconnected earlier this year after not seeing each other since we were in our early twenties. SOS was the one person I couldn’t push away during the teen years, and she (and God, though I didn’t know it at the time) got me through them. I never told her, back then, what was going on in my life but her innate, persistent, kindness kept me from doing something (to myself) that could never have been reversed. Today when I texted her about what happened, I thanked her for being the difference in my childhood.

I pray to be the difference for someone else.

On to the original post . . .

 No matter which holiday season we may or may not observe, it can be a time of joy and celebration or stress, confusion and conflicting feelings, and/or a time of grief, loneliness and desolation.  Difficult feelings can be compounded due to the pressure some people feel because it seems the world is telling us we ‘should’ be so excited, cheerful, loving and giving. 

I’ll be honest, like so many other good people I struggle to varying degrees during these times.  It’s not a personal ‘flaw’ or sin, nor is it weak or shameful to feel and admit this. Truth should never be denied or told to shut up just because it may make others uncomfortable.  It’s only by bringing the darker truths into the light of honesty that we can create the hope and perhaps healing that comes from knowing we are not alone. Then maybe, together, we can encourage each other enough to get us through the darkest moments when desperate decisions can be made that create consequences we can never rescind. 

And even though we, as mortals, may not be able to see it in those most painful moments when  someone chooses to hold onto hope in the midst of their God awful pain, that’s when Heaven rejoices.  

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to remember that sometimes joy in ourselves and others cannot always be fabricated and shared to our specifications. Remind me to not ignore someone who is in dire need of a smile or blessing just because it might infringe on my comfort zone.  And also remind me that just because someone else may not get an immediate ‘pick-me-up’ from what I tried to do for them does not discount the gesture.  It just may be the seed that sprouts in time to keep them (and perhaps others) safe.  If only we could see Heaven’s joy then!