Here it is the last day of December, not to mention the last day of the year, and I haven't written anything this month. Our calendar has been packed with celebration, so why don't I feel like writing? Even this post is just an attempt to check the "December box" with a self-imposed obligatory update. Two words capture the Christmas holiday season in my mind: bitter and sweet. For me, it is so different from Thanksgiving where the overwhelming theme is one of gratitude.
We started off the month with a luxurious overnight in Dallas celebrating our anniversary. The hotel staff greeted us with enormous strawberries completely covered in dark chocolate. Kyle insisted that I should try them, as they were beyond delicious, but I just couldn't. Bitter and sweet do not mix well in my mind (or my taste buds). Still, I wonder if I'm missing something. Is there something profoundly good in the mixture of these two "tastes".
So much of life is a combination of bitter and sweet moments and the Christmas season seems to magnify this experience for me. With all of the joy and festivity (sweetness) surrounding the holidays, I tend to be sad this time of year, especially mindful of great loss (bitterness) in our lives. Every time I turn on the computer or the television, I read another story of tragedy and suffering. Just yesterday, I read a blog post of a young mother suffering well; I was stunned as she wove the bitterness of a life crushing disease with the sweetness of her faith in Christ. Unlike this dear saint, I am relatively untouched by the harsh realities of life in a fallen world or of a broken body. Her testimony of faith (see below) including the strength and peace that comes only from the Lord Jesus encourages my soul as I anticipate 2015.
Happy New Year, friends! May we taste the sweetness of God's amazing grace in the year ahead and be transformed by "the hope of Christmas".
http://myjourneywithibc.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-hope-of-christmas.html?m=1
