"It Can Hurt"
The holiday season is officially here! Thursday, we will gather around a table filled with the annual traditions and recipes that symbolize family, legacy, and love. On Sunday, we begin the journey to the manger as we step into the season of Advent, a time to prepare our hearts for the greatest gift of love given to all of humanity: Jesus.
As we deck the halls, shop for treasures, and enjoy the beauty of the season, there is a difficulty that comes when love is disturbed by loss, grief, or estrangement.
The truth is, this time of the year can be a struggle for many. Those who have lost loved ones over the year. Those who are unable to be with family during the holiday season. Those who are estranged from loved ones and hold the weight of unspoken conversations. Those who are anxious about possible conflict when the whole gang comes together. As I shop, set the table, prepare the recipes, and plan the meal's timing, I pray. I pray for those who feel the weight of loss this season in any form, and I was reminded by one of the spiritual giants, C.S. Lewis, about the cost of love and the investment of family.
"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves.
To those who have loved and feel the weight of loss, then the love must have been great, and with that, you tasted a mighty blessing in this thing called life. So if you find yourself digging deep this Thanksgiving to have a grateful heart, may you be reminded of the treasure of time you had and the depth of the love you experienced, because a moment where love is shared is a moment where Heaven has touched our hearts and now waits for us to be reunited again.
Much love and many blessings,
Sherri
As we deck the halls, shop for treasures, and enjoy the beauty of the season, there is a difficulty that comes when love is disturbed by loss, grief, or estrangement.
The truth is, this time of the year can be a struggle for many. Those who have lost loved ones over the year. Those who are unable to be with family during the holiday season. Those who are estranged from loved ones and hold the weight of unspoken conversations. Those who are anxious about possible conflict when the whole gang comes together. As I shop, set the table, prepare the recipes, and plan the meal's timing, I pray. I pray for those who feel the weight of loss this season in any form, and I was reminded by one of the spiritual giants, C.S. Lewis, about the cost of love and the investment of family.
"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves.
To those who have loved and feel the weight of loss, then the love must have been great, and with that, you tasted a mighty blessing in this thing called life. So if you find yourself digging deep this Thanksgiving to have a grateful heart, may you be reminded of the treasure of time you had and the depth of the love you experienced, because a moment where love is shared is a moment where Heaven has touched our hearts and now waits for us to be reunited again.
Much love and many blessings,
Sherri
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