Hope for the Holidays {Rejoice in Hope}

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: rejoice!”
-Philippians 4:4

As the Christmas season draws near, the last thing you may feel like doing this year is rejoicing.  It may seem there is little reason for joy this year.  If your loss is new, it is possible you pictured celebrating your Christmas very differently than you now will.  Last Christmas was that way for me.  We had expected sharing our Christmas with a six-month-old boy and all the fun that comes with watching a baby at Christmas.  Instead, the holidays seemed like a huge reminder of the ache of his absence.  Yet as Christmas approached, the Lord continually caused me to shift my focus away from myself and my sorrow and onto Him.  What did it mean that Jesus had come?  What are we really celebrating at Christmas?

Just like the saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season”, perhaps we all know and take for granted that Christmas is celebrated in remembrance of when Jesus was born. How often do you consider all the implications of what it means that Jesus came, died and rose again?  There are so many, I know I could not list them all without a lot of research.  I’m going to mention just a few here that as a hope mom specifically, lead me to rejoice.

We can rejoice that our babies are in heaven!  This would not have been possible without Jesus.  What great comfort in my sorrow to think that my little boy is experiencing the greatest joy, right now! Though I miss him terribly, I can rejoice knowing that he is already experiencing fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord.

We can rejoice that one day we get to be with our babies who have gone on before us.  This is our great hope, and I cannot say it better than Peter did, in 1 Pet 1:3-4:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

Do you hear that? What we receive because Jesus came is an inheritance that does not change, is perfect, and can never be taken from us! Oh, dear sister!  Rest and rejoice that if your faith is in Jesus you have a place in heaven one day with your child, who is already enjoying the wonder of it!

Maybe all of this leads you to question, “But what about today?  What about the hurt and pain and emptiness that is left right now?  How do I wait for eternity?”

This brings me to another wonderful reason to rejoice that Jesus came. Jesus left heaven and came to earth and experienced everything we may go through and more.  He suffered and endured such tremendous pain and sorrow.  And because He did, you know you can go to Him with your deepest hurts and trust that He is able to sympathize with you.  This is incredibly important to us because it allows us to boldly go to God in prayer as it states in Hebrews 4:14-16:

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

So, if this season seems incredibly painful to you, I encourage you to run into the arms of Jesus, who knows and understands how deeply you hurt.  Yet don’t let yourself dwell there in sadness.  Turn your heart to all the reasons we have to rejoice because Jesus came to Earth as a human.  This Christmas, let the truth that your little one is in heaven encourage you to see afresh the beauty of the gift we have in Jesus, and celebrate all that He is and all that He means with a renewed sense of joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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