“At the end of this period, I need to meet with all of you for a few minutes.”
The text seemed odd, and I wondered what might be up. But as a middle school teacher, I’ve learned to expect almost anything, especially when a break is on the horizon—and our Christmas break was.
“Josie’s* mom was killed in a vehicle accident this morning. They have picked Josie up from school. The dad plans to tell her.”
The news seared our ears and burned in our throats. The student was a seventh-grader whom we had all taught for two years. Her dad owned a local landscaping business. We knew him as the landscaper for three of the subdivisions where my wife and I had lived. His older daughter worked for some of our good friends. Now, a husband had no wife, and daughters had no mom. And one week before Christmas. It would be a Christmas they would never forget. The life-altering event would impact them for years to come, especially during the holidays.
We awaited the news of when the visitation and funeral would take place. That Friday after school, we middle-school teachers gathered at one of the local funeral homes and snaked our way through the line, shaking hands and hugging the family, telling them how sorry we were for their loss.
But our seventh grader wasn’t in the family line. Instead, she sat balled up in a chair in another room, crying her eyes out and hanging her head low. We gathered around her, hugged her, told her how sorry we were, and said we were praying for her. How many of our words she comprehended, I’m not sure. Grief clouded her mind, and tears blinded her eyes. She didn’t plan to return to school until after Christmas break. We just hoped she would return, period.
Mary doubtless felt pain and sorrow as well (Luke 2:4-5). Because a foreign ruler had made a declaration, she had to walk and ride a donkey for almost one hundred miles to register for taxation. But joy met her sorrow when she gave birth to the Savior of the world in a cave manger. She also must have marveled when lowly shepherds arrived to greet her new babe.
Grief overcomes many during the Christmas season: death, financial struggles, relationship challenges, loneliness. The list can seem endless, and the reasons for loathing the season stretch into infinity.
However, we, like Mary, can also find happiness when we remember why we celebrate. A Savior has infiltrated our world. A babe who later would trek to a cross and give His life for our sins, thereby opening the way for our forgiveness. Nothing we have experienced or currently endure can overpower that good news. And this same Savior can empower us to move forward beyond our sorrow and grief into a brighter tomorrow.
Don’t let Christmas grief steal the joy of the season.
Martin Wiles lives in Greenwood, SC, and is the founder of the internationally recognized website, Love Lines from God. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, pastor, and author. He serves as Managing Editor for both Christian Devotions and Vinewords.net and is an instructor for the Christian PEN (professional editors’ network). Wiles is a multi-published author. His most recent book, Hurt, Hope and Healing: 52 Devotions That Will Lead to Spiritual Health, is available on Amazon. He and his wife are parents of two and grandparents of seven. He can be contacted at [email protected].