What Holidays are All About
I think that I've figured it out. The holidays are about love and happiness. They are just covered up by loads of food, vacation plans, and tree decorations. There are so many people that feel lonely and depressed during this time, for many logical reasons...But the fundamental one is that they don't feel loved. And the scary thing is that you can be in a room full of people but still feel unloved. They may not have done what they promised to, they didn't give you that warm embrace you were longing for, or they didn't remember what your favorite dessert is. Different things make us feel loved. For some, just being in the same room is enough.
This festive season I have learned that it's not the bad fried chicken or the missed trip to church that ruins the holiday season for people. It's the broken promises, the unspoken words right along with the spoken ones. It's the misunderstandings and the unmade phone calls. We are all longing for and seeking the same thing. If only we'd understand that we don't receive and perceive love in the same way. I think that's why there are a lot of disasters that take place in Christmas movies. Family secrets come out, food gets thrown across the table, years of kept anger comes spilling out like an active volcano. You can fake happiness, but only for a little while. You can fake a smile, but eventually your cheeks will start to hurt.
We speak up when it's too late. We have conversations five years too late. We miss emotional cues, and we put plasters on infected wounds. We seem functional to cover up the dysfunction. And our bed room walls, and pillows know more truth than our hearts have dared to share. In keeping secrets, and being strong for the sake of others...We create islands, walls that keep us from the very thing we are trying to get to.
Ephesians 4:32 (MSG) Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
This festive season I have learned that it's not the bad fried chicken or the missed trip to church that ruins the holiday season for people. It's the broken promises, the unspoken words right along with the spoken ones. It's the misunderstandings and the unmade phone calls. We are all longing for and seeking the same thing. If only we'd understand that we don't receive and perceive love in the same way. I think that's why there are a lot of disasters that take place in Christmas movies. Family secrets come out, food gets thrown across the table, years of kept anger comes spilling out like an active volcano. You can fake happiness, but only for a little while. You can fake a smile, but eventually your cheeks will start to hurt.
We speak up when it's too late. We have conversations five years too late. We miss emotional cues, and we put plasters on infected wounds. We seem functional to cover up the dysfunction. And our bed room walls, and pillows know more truth than our hearts have dared to share. In keeping secrets, and being strong for the sake of others...We create islands, walls that keep us from the very thing we are trying to get to.
Ephesians 4:32 (MSG) Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.