While my wife took a turn at driving from Taylors, S.C., to our home in Southern Pines, N.C., I thought about December.
On Thanksgiving Day 2008, the day before Carol and I began our 200-mile trip back to Southern Pines, we enjoyed dinner at the home of our older daughter and her husband in Taylors. Our younger daughter and her husband drove from N.C. for that meal, and my Aunt Frances and Uncle Fred joined our group later on Thanksgiving Day for food and fellowship.
On Friday, after lunch with Aunt and Uncle at the Southern Thymes Café in Greer, we drove north in holiday traffic.
Driving amid heavy I-85 traffic, we saw numerous highway patrolmen and glimpsed a couple of “full to the brim” mall parking lots. I’ve heard that stores slashed prices to lure cautious Christmas shoppers discouraged by our country’s economic recession.
As we drove, I thought about the end-of-the-year month that many love and some find emotionally difficult.
The carpet manufacturer I work for laid off most of its hourly workers during Thanksgiving week, and another layoff is planned for Christmas week. A couple of my friends recently lost their jobs.
Songwriter Merle Haggard tried to express feelings about job-loss and Christmas in a song called “If We Make It through December.” That song contains these words:
“Got laid off down at the factory / And their timing’s not the greatest in the world / Heaven knows I been working hard / Wanted Christmas to be right for daddy's girl / I don’t mean to hate December / It’s meant to be the happy time of year / And my little girl don't understand / Why daddy can't afford no Christmas here / If we make it through December / Everything’s going to be all right, I know…If we make it through December, we’ll be fine.”
Barbara Russell Chesser, author of “Keeping Christmas,” notes that for some people, Christmas is a time to grieve. Memories of a hard childhood, a divorce, or the death of a loved one are often overwhelming – and the surrounding glitter and happiness intensify those memories.
“Christmas rekindles for many people the most vivid memories and evokes the strongest emotions,” she says. “We all long for the perfect holiday…To savor the peace and joy of the season, we must reconcile the disappointments, the tragedies of the past year – indeed our entire lifetime – as well as the triumphs, large and small.”
Christmastime can be tough. Christians have great opportunities to direct attention to Jesus Christ and his birth during the festive season, but we must purpose to avoid falling into despondency because of less-than-perfect relationships or because of the world’s materialistic approach to Christmas. Many may battle personal sadness as the calendar year ends during the short, often-gray days of December.
As Carol and I drove along, we heard the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” on our radio. The author of that hymn, written in Latin in the 12th century, is unknown. Here are some words in that song:
“O come, O come, Emmanuel / And ransom captive Israel / That mourns in lonely exile here / Until the Son of God appear / Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.
“O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer / Our spirits by Thine advent here / Disperse the gloomy clouds of night / And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
That song is based on Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (or Emmanuel).”
“Immanuel” means “God is with us.” Jesus Christ is our Immanuel, and he said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
With Christ, we can make it through December – and through any other month of the year.
On Thanksgiving Day 2008, the day before Carol and I began our 200-mile trip back to Southern Pines, we enjoyed dinner at the home of our older daughter and her husband in Taylors. Our younger daughter and her husband drove from N.C. for that meal, and my Aunt Frances and Uncle Fred joined our group later on Thanksgiving Day for food and fellowship.
On Friday, after lunch with Aunt and Uncle at the Southern Thymes Café in Greer, we drove north in holiday traffic.
Driving amid heavy I-85 traffic, we saw numerous highway patrolmen and glimpsed a couple of “full to the brim” mall parking lots. I’ve heard that stores slashed prices to lure cautious Christmas shoppers discouraged by our country’s economic recession.
As we drove, I thought about the end-of-the-year month that many love and some find emotionally difficult.
The carpet manufacturer I work for laid off most of its hourly workers during Thanksgiving week, and another layoff is planned for Christmas week. A couple of my friends recently lost their jobs.
Songwriter Merle Haggard tried to express feelings about job-loss and Christmas in a song called “If We Make It through December.” That song contains these words:
“Got laid off down at the factory / And their timing’s not the greatest in the world / Heaven knows I been working hard / Wanted Christmas to be right for daddy's girl / I don’t mean to hate December / It’s meant to be the happy time of year / And my little girl don't understand / Why daddy can't afford no Christmas here / If we make it through December / Everything’s going to be all right, I know…If we make it through December, we’ll be fine.”
Barbara Russell Chesser, author of “Keeping Christmas,” notes that for some people, Christmas is a time to grieve. Memories of a hard childhood, a divorce, or the death of a loved one are often overwhelming – and the surrounding glitter and happiness intensify those memories.
“Christmas rekindles for many people the most vivid memories and evokes the strongest emotions,” she says. “We all long for the perfect holiday…To savor the peace and joy of the season, we must reconcile the disappointments, the tragedies of the past year – indeed our entire lifetime – as well as the triumphs, large and small.”
Christmastime can be tough. Christians have great opportunities to direct attention to Jesus Christ and his birth during the festive season, but we must purpose to avoid falling into despondency because of less-than-perfect relationships or because of the world’s materialistic approach to Christmas. Many may battle personal sadness as the calendar year ends during the short, often-gray days of December.
As Carol and I drove along, we heard the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” on our radio. The author of that hymn, written in Latin in the 12th century, is unknown. Here are some words in that song:
“O come, O come, Emmanuel / And ransom captive Israel / That mourns in lonely exile here / Until the Son of God appear / Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.
“O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer / Our spirits by Thine advent here / Disperse the gloomy clouds of night / And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
That song is based on Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (or Emmanuel).”
“Immanuel” means “God is with us.” Jesus Christ is our Immanuel, and he said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
With Christ, we can make it through December – and through any other month of the year.
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