Christmas.

I wrote something as a comment on a post the other week which went along the lines of ‘and you can’t cancel Christmas! We came here two years ago and had hardly any furniture and just each other and it was still good, because Jesus is’ (That’s from memory, not exact). That is true! and Christmas is about Christ and no, you can’t cancel it, even if no one meets up and we don’t eat and drink and make merry, it still isn’t cancelled. For me, the celebration has got more and more meaningful as time has gone on and there’s such a deep joy in even just saying his name, Jesus.

But it did dawn on me as well, that this could come across as quite reckless and abrupt to people who are struggling this Christmas, in whatever way it is. I then had a memory of the Christmas before I came to know Jesus and it reminded me of the goodness and mercy and kindness of God. it’s only short.

I was still working as a staff nurse on the community and we had been working Christmas Eve day, it was getting later in the day, I was in the office after doing visits and I really, really didn’t want to go home. I was almost in tears at the thought of going home, I didn’t even know exactly why, I suppose I was lonely and was struggling.

A Christian I worked with noticed how upset I was, no-one else did, and he was just so kind to me. It made a huge difference that he actually noticed how I was feeling and just cared. I realised afterwards that the difference is that he had God in Him and it was God doing the noticing. Later that year, I cried out to God, begging to know if he was there and he answered me.

This Christmas, don’t underestimate the power of what you may view as a small action, a kindness, a loving gesture. It can make all the difference.

Happy Christmas.

Cathy.