Christmas time is generally associated with extra happiness, if the popular Christmas songs are any indication.“We wish you a merry Christ,” “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and even “Jingle Bells” all tell us that the Christmas season is supposed to filled with joy.
Thinking about and celebrating the birth of our Savior should cause us to rejoice. But all the emphasis put on the happiness of Christmas time can accentuate another reality. For many, the happiness of the season is mixed with intense grief. For those who have experienced significant losses, the sorrow they feel can overwhelm the feelings of merriment. Grief does not vanish when the Christmas décor comes out. For some, “’Tis the season to be jolly.” For many, many others, it is a season mixed with sorrow.
This can lead a person to feel severe guilt since they aren’t in “the Christmas spirit.” But it is not a sin to be sad or to grieve. In fact, the first instance of grief mentioned in the Bible is the grief felt by God over the sin of the world. Jesus experienced grief when He walked this earth. The Holy Spirit, too, can be grieved by the actions of God’s children. It is obvious, then, that grief by itself is not wrong. In fact, the right kind of grief, is a good thing.
God knows the grief that you feel in your seasons of sorrow and He invites you to come to Him with your grief. He does not promise you an anesthetic that will numb the pain, but something far better. He offers you the grace to walk with Him through the suffering and see that your sorrow, in the end, will turn to eternal joy.