We\u2019re entering a season that seems to play out in three different ways for people.<\/p>\n
For many, it\u2019s \u201cThe Most Wonderful Time of the Year\u201d \u2014 most importantly, a time of celebrating Christ\u2019s miraculous birth.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s also a favorite time of year for shopping, with many people eagerly anticipating the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, for some, there\u2019s something about the holidays that can also make this one of the most difficult<\/em> times of the year. Perhaps they’re ill or they recently lost someone they love. As a result, all the seasonal advertising and hype, and the sense that everyone but them is having a grand old time, can bring much pain.<\/p>\n For the most part, I\u2019m in the first camp. I’m looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with extended family and friends this year. I welcome the reminder of all that I have to be grateful for. And I look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior who is central to all that I hold dear.<\/p>\n But I also have a foot in the third camp. While it\u2019s been about 20 years since my parents died, this season always reminds me of their final days. My mom died less than two weeks before Christmas in 2003; my dad passed away less than a year later, the day after Thanksgiving in 2004. I had the honor of being at their side when they each drew their final breaths. Sometimes I\u2019m surprised by how vividly those memories live for me.<\/p>\n All that to say that if the holidays bring you<\/em> a mix of emotions, including some pain, I can relate.<\/p>\n For those who are in a good place, here\u2019s my encouragement. This year, as you make your holiday lists\u2014whether grocery lists or gift lists\u2014make one more list. Think of a few people for whom the holidays might be kind of tough. And then do something about it, something to brighten their spirits. You don\u2019t have to buy them a gift; just sending a card that lets them know you\u2019re thinking of them and they\u2019re important to you would mean a lot.<\/p>\n I know you\u2019ll make their<\/em> holidays better, and in the process, I\u2019m pretty sure you\u2019ll make yours<\/em> better as well.<\/p>\n From my family to yours, in whatever state you find yourself at the start of this holiday season, I pray you\u2019ll experience God\u2019s greatness and God\u2019s goodness in very meaningful ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re entering a season that seems to play out in three different ways for people. For many, it\u2019s \u201cThe Most Wonderful Time of the Year\u201d \u2014 most importantly, a time of celebrating Christ\u2019s miraculous birth. Of course, it\u2019s also a favorite time of year for shopping, with many people eagerly anticipating the Black Friday and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[139,391],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/uploads\/Holiday_Candles_623.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pC9nj-1uB","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5741"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23536,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5741\/revisions\/23536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattaboutmoney.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}