What, No Christmas?

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

- Psalm 30:11-12

What, No Christmas?  A Christmas reflection.

          It was the year that my husband’s father would be diagnosed with cancer in November and be gone by January.  He was hospitalized several hours away to begin with:  surgery, treatments, long road trips, lots of phone calls and worry…   He was finally sent home to die with no hope of surviving the cancer the doctors had just diagnosed.

          By this time it was close to Christmas and my husband’s mother decided that with everything that was happening they would not have Christmas.   Jon (my husband), his sister and I were not willing to accept this and made plans to make sure Christmas happened.   We bought a tree – it was a rather pathetic because it was the last one on the lot.  We bought presents, dug out the Christmas ornaments, made goodies and even got food for Christmas dinner. 

          We knew that Jon’s mother went to bed early – usually by 9 p.m.  So the three of us hung around the house with his mom waiting for her to go to bed (by 9 p.m.) so we could set up Christmas and surprise her.   That evening she did the unthinkable – she found an old movie she wanted to watch and stayed up past midnight.

          The three of us kept waiting until we finally fell asleep on the floor.    Eventually, she did go to bed and we spent the rest of the night putting up Christmas and getting things ready for the next day.

          As you can imagine the surprise was wonderful.  I believe it was just the medicine the doctor ordered.  His mother had a pleasant surprise and the three of us had been able to help out as opposed to how helpless we felt  against the cancer.

          I often think back on that Christmas and thank God for that special time.  The last Christmas we would have with Jon’s father and lots of precious memories of the beauty of that sad looking tree put together with love.  The next morning his mother said: “I wondered why you crazy kids didn’t just go to bed instead of sleeping on the floor!”

          God gives us the ability in the midst of difficult circumstances to turn our mourning in to joy.   If we will take hold of it God allows us to find love and joy even in the midst of dying.   And even though it was Christmas there was a kind of resurrection for us that said – things will be okay.

Prayer:   God of love, joy and hope, help us to open ourselves to the mystery of your presence in our lives.  We know that even in the midst of difficulty you offer to us your grace if we will just allow ourselves to embrace it.   Thank you for the blessing of this year.  Be with families who may be facing illness and even death during this season.   May we be your presence as the opportunities are presented to us.  In your precious Son’s name,  Amen.