Merry Christmas to you!

This has been quite the year, hasn’t it? 

Twenty twenty-four has been a year for the history books. And I don’t know about you but I don’t really want to repeat it. As we get closer to 2025 I’m excited and a bit trepidatious to fully embrace the new year. I may want to walk around a bit, kick the tires so-to-speak. Just to make sure I like it. Because this year has been. . . A LOT.

We’ve lived through an incredibly tough election cycle that just seemed like it would never end and quite frankly brought out some ugliness in this country that I hope is lessening and beginning to heal. We lived through a natural disaster in our neck of the woods and although the media has moved on people around us - 30 miles from where I sit typing this out - are still living in tents. And it’s already snowed multiple times this season. And we’re two weeks away from Christmas. And they’re still in tents without drinking water or electricity. In The USA.

I have a friend who is going through a gut-wrenching divorce. Another friend is dealing with the loss of her parent. I have a friend who is dealing with the loss of a career. And one who is just being diagnosed with cancer - for the second time. I have a friend losing his wife slowly to a terrible disease. Another who is dealing with a child in unimaginable pain. And so many friends in financial straits. The pain is too much to bear for one person. One family. It’s all so heavy right now. Even as I write this another tragedy has been told to me of someone dear to my family.

And yet God is still here. He is still good, even though parts of this season might not be good. Even through the pain He still shines through. He is still with us and He is still sifting our futures through His hand. I hope we can all see Him and cling to Him because that’s really all we have to get through this time.

So I’m writing this with a plea that as we end 2024 and walk into 2025 that we’ll have grace for each other and treat each person with whom we contact with kindness. It’s true what they say - that no one knows what anyone is dealing with so we need to just be kind. 

I feel like we’re all so fragile right now. So broken and so beaten down with the pain of this world. I pray we will pour out grace this season to everyone and spread kindness like confetti. 

And I pray you’ll be blessed and feel blessed this season. I pray for peace and joy to be upon you and in you. I pray you’ll feel loved and spend time with those near and dear to your heart. 

And you know what else? I hope we can let go of unnecessary and heavy expectations placed upon us. I hope we can all find a restful place to relax and heal from the year that we’ve been through. 

And I hope 2025 is a year of growth and happiness and blessings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Aliceson