The Holidays Can Suck
By Tyler White on Saturday, December 14th, 2024 in Depression. No Comments
One of the most common things I hear this time of year from clients are how difficult the holidays are. Almost unanimously, once a client tells me something to this effect, the next thing they tell me is that they feel completely alone in this feeling. Not only is this time of year tougher than others, but they feel as if they are on an island all by themselves in their feelings. The Hallmark-ization of the Christmas season has so many people convinced that they are the only one struggling during the holidays. Somehow, everyone is doing perfect except for them.
When I think of the first Christmas, I doubt it was as joy filled as our current culture would have us believe. Scripture, in my opinion, paints a much different picture. I see a man, who months earlier, was on the verge of divorcing his wife because he was under the impression she had been unfaithful (Matthew 1:18-19). I recall a family that, having to travel in the middle of a pregnancy, was forced to give birth to a son in the midst of animals in a manger because there was nowhere else they could stay (Luke 2:6-7). I read of a family that had to flee as refugees to a foreign land because the current king sought to kill the newborn King (Matthew 2:12-15). Not exactly the Hallmark, picture perfect image you might expect. While the message of Christmas should undoubtedly bring deep joy, the reality of the first Christmas story is one filled with difficulty, strife, and hardship
I think part of what can be learned from these verses is that even the birth of Christ was not void of suffering and difficulty. There are many reasons people may find the Christmas season to be a difficult one, but the beauty of the incarnation, as shown in these verses, is that we are not alone. In the midst of Jesus’ birth narrative, we are reminded “the virgin shall conceive an bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23). In the midst of a difficult holiday season, be reminded, Immanuel.
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