Merry Christmas to all of you! My hope and prayer today is that you feel the joy, awe, wonder, and relief that Christmas morning brings. But truth be told, there are some among us who carry generational trauma at Christmastime. Today can be a trigger day for those whose families struggled with anger, neglect, abuse, poverty, and deep unhappiness. You may be waking up this morning just feeling glad that the season is over, and all you have to do is get through today. For you especially, I pray that God’s overwhelming peace and hope would flood your soul and replace your memories with calm assurance of his presence.

My favorite Christmas hymn is Christina Rossetti’s In the Bleak Midwinter. I think it speaks into every moment of Christmas: The bleak ones, the reverent ones, the tender ones, and the giving ones.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter
Long, long ago

Angels and Arc Angels
May have traveled there
Cherubim and Seraphim
Thronged the air
But only his Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss

What can I give him?
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart
Give him my heart

If you are bleak this morning, know that you are loved. If you are filled with joy today, reflect on the maiden kiss that Mary gave her baby. If you are happily weary, rest in the company of angels. If you have hope, go out and tell it from the mountains.

Merry Christmas, my friends! Thank you for reading.

Bleak Midwinter by Michelle Robertson