A Time For Everything
author: Hope at Joy In The Mourning Ministries
As Christmas and the new year are approaching, many people begin reflecting on traditions. My family has many traditions for the holidays. Thinking on this has pushed me to consider how I approach the holidays with the grief that I am currently facing.
There are different types of grief. One of which I struggle with is letting go of my childhood. Every year we used to go to my grandparents’ houses. I would play with cousins and we would have a very jolly and festive Christmas Eve. Some of my favorite memories have been at my grandparents’ houses. Those traditions have been less and less over the years as I got older and my grandparents passed away.
In life we can get used to change, but it still does not make it any less difficult when it happens. I think there is an importance in remembering the past but, not getting fixated and stuck in it. Random times while driving or doing things in the house I will get flashbacks of when I was younger. Sometimes it feels like it is such a different life. Even though I had good traditions growing up and it is okay to miss them, I remember the season God has blessed me with now starting a new life with my husband (thanks to Ana for her match making skills :). In the Bible it reminds us that there is a time for everything. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” It goes on in chapter 3 to say there are different times for everything. A time to be sad and a time to be joyful. I think God does want to us to remember, but he does not want us to stay in the memory. God is a God of creation and new things. He is transforming us into the person He wants to be as we go through different seasons for that to happen. In the Bible it says that God transforms us so we can keep our focus on Him.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” As Christians, we need to let God transform us, which can be a bold step. God is the only one that can make us feel renewed and joyful. Even though Christmas might be difficult for some, God hears us and can renew us. Let us find our joy this week in knowing that the past memories may be sweet, but there are still many joyful memories to make in the future. We can embrace the memories of happy times we shared with people who are not with us any more and still find joy facing each day because we know God still has a plan. Let us not get bogged down by simply missing the past, but let us find excitement in the unknown of what the day may bring as we remember that God knows our sadness, gives us time for that, and still has a plan for us.
