When Celebrating Christmas is a Burden

Christmas joy Everywhere! That’s what media and all commercials promote: gifts in shiny wrappings, tree decorations, pretty lights and all there is to it.

As might be expected, we all like to offer and receive presents, we enjoy the smiles, all the beauty and cheer. The families come together and it is a chance to see each other, talk about what is new in everyone’s life, it is pleasant, it is good when everyone is off work and can relax a bit.

But what to do if all that doesn’t mean much to your heart? You might have your own problems and friends can’t be of much help anyway due to the delicacy of the issue or you might have had an argument with a friend and now the relation is tensioned. Situations resembling this can disturb your "Christmas mood" to such extent that they keep you trapped inside, not willing to communicate much; you are bored with everyone’s façade anyway…

Many people out there feel so alone at Christmas, they might have lost their families and maybe have no friends so they feel somehow "left out". Maybe you’ve just been trough a divorce and your wound is not healed …wondering if it would ever heal; what’s more , you can’t take your kids over to your parents for fear that you might hear reproaches like :"I told you in the first place not to marry him!"
Yes, there are many and diverse situations that make Christmas a burden …instead of a celebration. Feeling cornered to "have to" face this Christmas when you actually hate this time of the year is not fun at all.

Is there something you can do to improve the situation?

Well, there actually is. Just as you can’t help others put their oxygen mask if you don’t put it yourself first, the same way, do something to help yourself. Many times motives are associated, they come all together, and you can’t even distinguish clearly the reason you are miserable. So why don’t you make a list with the plusses and minuses of your life so far? Count your blessings! Don’t be blind to every good thing God sent your way because of the hardships you might be in at the moment.

How can you cheer up when you don’t really have reasons to share smiles?

There was a king who asked his wisest servant: "Make a special ring for me so that when I will look at it while I am sad, it would cheer me up and when I exaggerate with cheerfulness I want it to bring my feet on the ground again. Do it or you’ll lose your head!" Thinking and toiling himself to come up with such an extraordinary idea, the servant completed the ring; the following inscription saved his life because this is what he engraved on the ring:" This will also pass".

Oh, the king was most pleased with it and when sad, the ring reminded him:" This will also pass", and when too euphoric, a look at the ring reminded him that this would also pass.

Yes everything is subject to change, never knows what tomorrow brings! Anyway, why wait until tomorrow when you can talk right now to the Maker of the Universe? He is your Father, He understands you more then you can imagine! That’s why He sent Jesus for you, to show you how loved you are and that He is for you, not against you! Write Him a letter or talk to Him and ask Him to get you out of any trouble you might be in, and He will!

This is not just a story, check history and science; check for yourself if the Bible is true or not! There was a time when the doubts whether the Bible is true or not came very strongly in my life so I checked all there was to verify: creation, evolution, science and history,(I saw that it takes more faith to believe evolution then to believe creation!). That’s why, with a newfound conviction I assure you that you can have a great Christmas in spite of your present situation. Remember, it will pass!

And don’t forget to put a smile on someone else’s face! You don’t have to necessarily buy something, just by saying a kind word to someone who needs it (and who doesn’t?!), maybe your neighbor or an orphan child, just listening to their story or maybe sharing a piece of cake, you do yourself a very big favor!

A well-known doctor shared a great cure for depressions, he said it always worked: doing something good for a person every day. It doesn’t matter who the persons are, just do some little favor to someone once a day; keep doing that for 21 days and the depression is cured.

What’s more, anything you do to whichever simple people is registered into Heaven’s accountability as having done it for the Baby born at Christmas! Yes, Jesus Himself, the Son of God! Here is what He said:" Truly I say to you, Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Mathew 25:40

To sum up, pun on your "oxygen mask"- observe the real reasons that make Christmas a burden - and don’t forget to count your blessings; bear in mind that it will pass; talk to your Maker and put a smile on someone’s face, you actually do it for Jesus!

Have a Merry, Merry, Christmas!