Christmas is not an easy season for many people.
As the world gets coated in a sparkly, shiny candy-coated smile, those who are suffering and weary can feel the divide between a Christmas smile and their inner reality to be very stark.
We see nativities on display with pretty little characters smiling and sweet. While inside, some might feel more like they are on the outside of the stable scene, smelling like cattle and covered in dirt from a weary journey, unsure of that little baby in the manger can truly do anything to touch the loneliness and pain they hold.
If this is you, welcome. Know you are not alone.
Christmas is hard for many people.
Those who have suffered a significant loss or bereavement whose Christmas isn't what they imagined it would be with that person missing.
Those who feel exceptionally low, and see the joy around them as a harsh reminder of what they long for but cannot find inside.
Those who have experienced difficulties in their families which means that spending time with them is not safe, let alone joy filled.
Those with anxiety that make gathering in crowds hard.
An over-sparkly Christmas experience often misses those in pain. Yet it is in the dark, empty, smelly places that God is often doing some of the greatest work yet unseen. Christmas is a testimony of that.
It is in the dark, empty, smelly places that God is often doing some of the greatest work yet unseen.
That's why one of my favourite modern Christmas songs is this one by Sovereign Grace.
O come, all you unfaithful
Come, weak and unstable
Come, know you are not alone
O come, barren and waiting
Ones weary of praying
Come, see what your God has done...
O come, bitter and broken
Come, with fears unspoken
O come, guilty and hiding ones
There is no need to run
See what your God has done...
So come, though you have nothing
Christ is born
Christ is born for you.