Monday, December 14, 2015

Chair of Discomfort at the Table of Life

It is the holiday season---a joyous celebration for Christians throughout the world.
However, Christmas does not exempt believers from hard places----deep hurts----struggles and longings as they face Christmas without their loved ones. The best reminder is that Emmanuel is "God with us!" (Matthew 1:23)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God......(1 Corinthians 1:3-4)
That's what friends of the faith do----reach out to others to comfort them, even when they are suffering themselves.
That's what Jerrie did----she invited me to lunch. She shared her bounty and served me in a glass that reminded me, "Don't get tangled in the tinsel."

Such an act helped me refocus----enabling me to cut through the Gordian knots of life. Fear, sadness and disappointments being chief among them. Kindness can aid in disentangling those "impossible" knots that too easily surface this time of year.

Intuitively, my hostess listened to me "unload" from my chair of discomfort and made the table of life seem a lot more palatable. Just sitting at her table made me smile!