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Christmas Special: My Christmas Paradigm Shift

“I’ll have a blue Christmas without you. I’ll be so blue thinking about you. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree won’t be the same if you’re not here with me…” The words of the famous song “Blue Christmas” sung by Elvis Presley ran through my head as I sat down thinking about my current situation. I had to admit that the words of that song fit my situation to a T, and I began to feel miserable.

This Christmas I was alone. Well, not really alone, because I was with my family and we were busy in the full swing of Christmas witnessing. But I was alone because the one that I loved so dearly was not with me. We had a wonderful Christmas together the year before, and we both agreed that it was the best Christmas of our lives. But with the Lord’s call to try out new and different things, we found ourselves moving on to different situations, apart from each other for the time being. It was hard and I had to admit that I was devastated in the beginning, but I was slowly getting over the pain of our separation. That is, until Christmas rolled around.

In my mind, aside from all the witnessing, Christmas was meant to be spent with those that mean the most to us. Although I loved the thrills of sharing the Lord’s love with others and winning souls, I couldn’t help but think about all I seemed to be missing this year. I couldn’t help thinking about all that we had done together the Christmas before. I couldn’t help remembering all the fun that we had and the beautiful memories that we had shared together. Specter after specter of times past flashed through my mind and the visions of times past haunted my thoughts. The more I thought about it, the more depressed I got. How could I enjoy Christmas? How could I have joy this season without being near the one that I loved and depended on so greatly? How would there be Christmas cheer?

The words of the song “Blue Christmas” kept playing through my head for a few days. While they seemed to make so much sense, they only made my outlook all the more hopeless and miserable. Oh, why must things be this way? Why should things be so difficult? And although I’m ashamed to admit it, in my mind I wondered about God’s love in all of this. Didn’t Jesus care that I was alone and miserable at this time of the year that was supposed to be so special?

As I sat there one evening, working on my laptop, the sounds of the Christmas song “Joy to the World” wafted into the room that I was working in. I wasn’t really tuning in until the words “joy to the world” struck me. I began to listen more closely. “Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her king! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing!” Suddenly these words took on a whole new meaning to me.

This is the season of joy because of what it brings! Christmas is a celebration of love—Jesus’ love in coming down to earth to save us and give us eternal life forever. It is a season of joy because it is a celebration of the greatest gift ever given to mankind—love and life for eternity. It is a season of happiness because it represents the time that God enriched our lives by giving us eternal life, and by giving us Jesus to be with us all throughout our lives. It is a season of thanksgiving because of the fact that through the birth of the Savior, we have hope and happiness eternal! This is the hope of the season, the reason for joy!

I began to see my current situation through the eyes of the story of Christmas. Jesus also forsook everything that He loved and held dear to answer the call of God to fulfill His destiny of the salvation of all mankind. It must not have been easy for Him to do, but it was His love for us that gave Him the strength, and in turn the joy for what He did. And because of that sacrifice in coming down and living and dying for us, we now have Him and His love forever.

I too was asked by Him to forsake the one dearest to me. But I now could see that it was my love for Him that would carry me through and give me the strength, and in turn the joy, that comes from yielding to Him and discovering His love in a deeper way. And as a result, I have an eternity to look forward to with Him and those who matter most to me.

What it comes down to is the fact that I love Jesus and He loves me. He gave His life for me in love, and I have given my life to Him in His service. He gave up everything for me, and I am slowly laying down more and more of my life for Him. He has promised to love me and care for me all through my life and then take me to heaven to enjoy eternity with Him forever. This is my hope! This is my joy! This is why I could be happy.

So even though my outer circumstances were still less than ideal, my heart was filled with gratitude toward the one who means more than all the world to me. He is my treasure, my Christmas gift, my reason for joy, this season and the whole year around. He is the reason for joy, and having Him is all that matters. And I know that He’ll also work everything out for me, since He loves me deeply. After all, He promised that as I seek Him first and give Him first place in my life, He’ll add unto me everything that I need.

The result? I feel a lot closer to Jesus now. I feel His love more strongly, and although I still miss the one I love lots, I am so thankful for this newfound happiness and closeness to my Savior. I was given a chance to get closer to the one whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas. I was given yet another opportunity to know Him in a deeper and better way.

So that was my paradigm shift from “Blue Christmas” to “Joy to the World.” I realized, once again, that in Jesus we have so much to be happy about. We have a life that’s richly blessed! And through His love, we all can know true joy forever! And so I am really looking forward to this Christmas with Him, sharing a love that began on the first Christmas and is renewed every day of our lives! Happy Birthday, Jesus, and Merry Christmas! Thank You for filling my life with Your joy!