Merry Christmas and Happy All-The-Things

Hello Friends,

If Christmas is your thing, I hope you have a Merry one. I also realize, though, that Christmas isn’t everybody’s thing and so whatever it is that you do or celebrate during this time of the year - my prayer for you is that it brings you immense joy.

AND.

Regardless of what your thing is, I know that this time of the year can bring all sorts of feels …

Joy.

Sadness.

Anger.

A mixed bag of feelings and emotions.

… And so if this time of the year is hard for you because it reminds you of loss or sickness or abuse or neglect or whatever it may be, I pray that you’re able to sense that you aren’t alone.

For me, though, I celebrate Christmas. And what I’ve come to love about Christmas is the celebration of the darkness.

Yes, darkness.

The Winter Solstice was on December 21 and it’s the darkest time of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere (the day with the LEAST amount of sunlight and the MOST amount of darkness); and what that reminds me of is the womb from which Jesus came from … because wombs are dark, right? And Jesus came from a womb. He came from the darkness. And from that dark womb came a bright light that was for the whole world.

But, here’s the thing - the darkness wasn’t bad, right? The womb wasn’t evil. The darkness wasn’t something to be overcome or defeated or destroyed or demonized. Instead, it was a necessary part of creation’s design, the birth canal that opened the door for something new to be come forth.

(*SIDE NOTE: it’s no accident, by the way, that Christmas is celebrated around the time of the Winter Solstice, after which daylight increases little by little and the days get a little bit longer as each 24 block goes by. Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, but it’s around this time that light IS born from the deepest dark … and that’s a beautiful parallel to the story of Jesus The Christ, isn’t it?)

And that’s what I’m hoping for you this Christmas season - that you are able to see the dark moments of your life as wombs for new things to be conceived and birth canals for new things to come forth.

The darkness is not the end, my friend. Know that today. Know that sickness and loss and ruin and sadness and grief and … all the things that make life feel so hard, those things are not the end of the road. Instead, they are parts of the recipe for something new to come forth.

BUT.

Birth is painful, right? Ask any mother and I’m sure they will give you the graphic details … it’s not easy, and it hurts.

And so I’m not saying that the “birth of the new thing” will be an easy road to travel and all will be rainbows and unicorns.

Not at all …

The birth process may be hard.

It may hurt.

It may be filled with pain.

And grief.

And heartache.

And loss.

BUT.

It’s not the end of the road, that’s my only point - on the other side of the pain IS something new … and I pray that it makes itself abundantly clear to you this Christmas season.

Much love and thank you for you love and support.

• Glenn

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