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December 4, 2006
Christmas Spirit
This time last year, I lost my biggest fan. My eighty-six-year-old grandmother, my Gran Gran, died in her sleep. I had often prayed, like most people do for their loved ones, that she would die peacefully. She did.
This time last year, the suddenness of her death and my loss were muted by the volume of Christmas - trying to make sure my sons had a normal Christmas in spite of the loss of their great-grandmother.
This year, I can hear her loss loud and clear. This year, I feel it. I find things at the mall that she would have loved, but now I have no need to buy them, package them, and place them under a tree. This year, I see the perfect gifts for her everywhere.
In her book A Heart Like His, Beth Moore writes of the death of David: After an intense period of national mourning . . . life continued -- just as it has the audacity to do after we've lost a loved one.
The David she writes of is the same David who wrote in Psalm 30:11 You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.
There is joy in what the psalmist wrote and that is a verse I cling to as I try to find the elusive Christmas spirit this year. Life does go on -- as a Christian I know that we have eternal life. Merry Christmas!
Posted by rpatterson at December 4, 2006 5:27 AM