Gifts for the Holiday Blues

    “May your days be merry and bright.”  That’s not a problem for me during this season.  I love everything about it: the decorations, the music, the movies, the cooler weather, the family traditions. I think strangers are even friendlier to one another when they pass on the street, exchanging a chipper “good morning” on a cool, brisk day.  

    But to some, this is not “the most wonderful time of the year.”  The Holiday Blues are real.  They usher in periods of pain, sadness, and even depression.  While I’m enjoying a predictable plot on some Hallmark movie, another might be wondering, “why can’t my life be like that?”  

    What makes these days so blue and what are some gifts we can give to encourage those enduring them?

    For some, these are days of mourning.  Mourning is part of the human experience. All around us, we see funeral homes, cemeteries, and flags at half-mast. And the Lord’s people are not exempt from this dark valley.  At the death of their great leader, “the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end” (Deut. 34:8).  Sometimes these days of mourning occur during the holidays.  We sit down to eat and there’s an empty chair.  We take a family picture and there is one missing.  It’s just not the same.

    Give the gift of comfort.  The fact that they are called “days” of mourning indicates that they take time.  And the “days” for some may be months and years.  Be a comforter.  Job’s friends came to “sympathize with him and to comfort him” because they saw that his pain was very great (Job 2:11).  They sat with him for seven days and nights without saying a word.  Sometimes, just our presence alone is the gift someone needs.  When we do that, we surround them with the greatest source of consolation, the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).

    For some, these are days of loneliness.  God created us as social creatures. In the beginning, He recognized that it was “not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18).  All through the Scriptures, we find assurances that He did not leave His people to face their challenges alone.  “Let not your hearts be troubled,” Jesus said to His apostles (John 14:1).  They were troubled by the thought of Jesus leaving, that He would no longer be with them. Not only did He promise to come again, He promised to send them a Comforter (John 14:16-18).  And the last thing He assured them before He left the earth - “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

    Give the gift of companionship. For some, their spiritual family might be the only family they have left.  Or they may be separated from their loved ones and unable to get off work or travel to be with them. In the great passage about two being better than one, Solomon said, “a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” (Eccl. 4:9-12).  Instead of someone being alone, let them know that they have the Lord and you, and that makes three!  This is the time of year not just for Christmas cards but cards of encouragement for the discouraged, weak, and lonely.

    For some, these are days of stress.  We’re already over-extended with life itself.  Add the holiday season and it doesn’t always translate to joy and peace. Jesus Himself dealt with the stresses of everyday  life.  He had demands on His time and attention.  People flocked to Him for what He could do for them.  There were occasions when He and the apostles didn’t even have time to eat.  What was His response?   He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things” (Mk. 6:34).

    Give the gift of compassion.  This word is also translated “mercy” or “pity” in the Scriptures.  These are the days of short fuses.  We sleep less, are more stressed, are surrounded by more people in crowded stores.  We still have to let our lights shine in what we say and how we say it. “Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other” (Col. 3:12-14).  And we certainly don’t want to leave the lost in the dark by passing up opportunities to show compassion.

    According to the Reader’s Digest Oxford dictionary, holiday is defined as “festivity or recreation when no work is done.”  Let’s not forget that we still have responsibilities to those who need us most during these days.
 

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