Links for Hope Moms: Holiday Edition

We want to share with you links to posts, videos, and resources from around the web to uplift, help, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord as you grieve.

1. {What Suffering People Wish You Would Do at Christmas} // “Remind them that our faithful Savior will never fail or forsake them. That Jesus walks with them and He weeps with them. Remind them that He knows every detail of their struggle. Remind them that for all of us, the unshakeable hope of Christmas lies solely in Emmanuel, for our God has come to us and will forevermore be with us.”
   
2. {Celebrating Christmas with a Broken Heart}// “In the wake of grief, emotions are heightened and traditions that used to bring joy can produce deep sadness. Give yourself the freedom to let things go. Looking back on that difficult holiday season, I’m thankful for suffering, because it allowed me to strip away holiday excess and focus on its truest, simplest meaning. I didn’t realize it at the time, but suffering puts sentiment in its proper place. As the frills and fluff of the Christmas season grew strangely dim in light of my suffering, the holiday’s ultimate meaning was lifted out of the ashes of grief. Focus on those and let everything else that triggers despair fall to the wayside this year.”
   
3. {The Grief of Christmas}// “The birth of Christ on that evening in Bethlehem ushered in a profound grief during the first Christmas in Bethlehem. God delivers Joseph, Mary, and Jesus from Herod’s hand. But those left in Bethlehem experience grief unimaginable that shows how this present life is preparing us for an eternal joy. For we hope in Christ. God’s promise is sure. We will arrive out of grief, and our faith will become more genuine than precious gold, causing us to rejoice with inexpressible joy. May you see Rachel’s grief and the real hardship surrounding Jesus’ birth at Christmas as windows into other peoples’ grief, and may the hope of Christ encourage you both to grieve and help the grieving during the holiday season.”
   
4. {Flashback post: {The Hope of Christmas} // “Over 2,000 years ago, God sent Hope into this broken world. This Hope has a name. Immanuel. God with us. And as Hope entered this weary world, the heavens opened up in songs of rejoicing and a light appeared to mark the spot where He lay. This Christmas child taught us that often God’s greatest gifts come in the most unexpected packages. Into the darkness, there shown a great light. The light of the world had come to dwell with men.”

Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of I AM (Hope Mommies, 2017) and Identity (Hope Mommies, 2018). She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.

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