Joy to the World is more than a song. It is a grand moment to be noticed, applauded, and celebrated. Do your best to inform your heart of the great joy abounding from now to the next now.
Hearts have a tendency to lean one of two ways; tender or hardened. I don’t know how hearts decide or if it just happens. It would seem choices are made. To be fair, I’m not sure.
Heartbreak is a killer for me. I still cry when Charles Engles is moved on Little House on the Prairie. He and I were made from the same mold. Charles cried over every little thing. I have the feeling Michael Landon did so in real life as well.
The holidays are especially tough for some. Tragedy and trauma abruptly impose themselves while most unwelcome. Death and dying are tough enough for those remaining behind any time of the year, but Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to me to make such occasions doubly difficult.
This morning Laura Murphree will be buried. In her late 50s, she died last week of a sudden heart attack. She leaves behind a mom and dad, husband, and two children. Debbie is dying in California. She is doing her best to make it through Christmas one last time with her family. She is a preacher’s wife and has been most graceful and faithful in the final few months.
I point this out to remind you not to complain when the package doesn’t arrive on time or the ham is too fatty. Let it go! Trauma and tragedy are playing havoc with some and losing power for two hours isn’t one of them. Be grateful for what/who you have. These are wonderful days for most. Treat them as such.
2 comments:
We love you Terry...our verification word was "arpaw"...is that an grandad from Arkansas?
Going from preacher for 30+ years to funeral director (almost 2 years full time), we have seen wonderful families dealing with death during the holidays. Two services today and spending about an hour on the phone / computer trying to help another family arrange to have their loved one removed from the hospital to our care and a funeral first thing Monday morning is a constant reminder. We have two families that wanted to bury their dead this past week but with all the rain the cemetery could not dig graves. Imagine having to wait almost two weeks to bury your loved one! The grief continues in the midst of incredibly wonderful HOPE!
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