Dealing With Christmas Losses

Recently, I reviewed the notes from a sermon preached by Ron Edmondson that addressed what to do with Christmas losses. I've excerpted portions of his message in this post. I hope it will be helpful to you and others. So many people around us experience losses of one kind or another. We often feel helpless to know how to respond, either to our own losses or the losses of others. This is especially true at a season of the year that we anticipate will be filled with joy and laughter. But it's often not true for so many. Here follows some excellent insight and advice.  

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. As the song goes, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year“. But, for some people, Christmas can be a miserable time. 

 

Many have lost a loved one, suffered the end of a significant relationship, or even had a severe personal loss of income or health. For them, Christmas is just another reminder of what they no longer have. If we aren’t careful, the joy of Christmas is covered over with the emotions of loss, and rather than appreciating what we have or looking forward to what’s to come, we find ourselves in Christmas misery.

 

With some professional Christian counselors advice and some of my own, here's some practical ways to overcome a sense of Christmas loss.

 

Ideally, Christ is the answer. Apart from Christ there is no Christmas and there is no peace. These suggestions are not designed to take the place of that truth, but rather to give some practical tips to help you deal with loss at Christmas.

 

Here are some ways to deal with and overcome Christmas losses.

 

List your losses – Death, divorce, injury, finances, children moved out this year – whatever they are – write them down. Admit the pain – write them down.

 

Share them – Certainly with God, but with a close friend, or with people who have experienced your loss. Don’t be ashamed to see a professional counselor. Find support in a Bible study group or prayer group. We were designed for community, especially for times like this.

 

Grieve the loss – Every loss must be grieved. The intensity of the grief may be determined by the intensity of the loss. Some form of depression is a normal response to grief. We’ve almost created a culture where we think suffering is abnormal. Don’t be afraid to grieve – even publicly at times. It’s okay to be human.

 

Resist falling into despair – That’s where you live in a false reality that all hope is gone. It’s not. By the way, you don’t do that by ignoring them.

 

Take care of your physical body– Eat well, exercise, and get adequate rest. It’s more important during a sense of loss.

 

Be aware of negative thinking – Catch the negative thoughts and replace them with thoughts that are positive and true. See Philippians 4:8.

 

Do something for someone else – There are many opportunities during the Christmas season to help people. Helping other people reminds us loss is universal and other people are struggling with you. Plus, something about giving fuels positive emotions.

 

Force yourself to participate in social activities – You won’t feel like it, but social support is critical in recovering from loss. No one benefits by becoming a recluse. In fact, you actually increase the likelihood you will become clinically depressed.

 

Avoid the comparison game – Don’t compare your losses to other people’s losses. Significant loss naturally makes us focus inward, but that never works. And, it’s dangerous.

 

Honor you losses with new traditions – Begin some new family rituals that will help you reflect on the good things you experienced with the person you have lost or will help you remember happier days to come.

 

And here's one final suggestion – perhaps more most powerful of all. It’s this:

 

We have to learn to worship in tears. You have to learn to worship even in pain. When you realize God is good – even when it doesn’t seem life is good – you are better equipped to face the storms of life, which are sure to come.

 

Obviously, Christ is the peace of Christmas, and He can fill your brokenness. You can trust Him. This Christmas, let the Christ of Christmas fill the void and loss you have in your heart and life.