November 25. One month until Christmas. Grief tsunami warning issued.
C’mon, you’ve got this. Do you though? Really?
Yeah, you love Advent! Hope, waiting, expectation, and all that jazz.
Not feeling great about it. Feeling griefy at the moment.
Well, yeah. Of course you are, silly. You’ve made many plans. You’ve got tons of love and support. You need to keep showing up.
Okay, but what version do you want to show up? The one doing her best to get through these firsts? The one questioning why God created her, of all people, to be brave? The one who is not going to pretend to be okay when she’s not okay? That’s exactly who is gonna show up. That’s who you get. It might be messy. The sermons might be subpar. There may be tears at times. There may be a few laughs, too.
Joy will break through, because that’s what joy does. Joy and pain can coexist.
So that’s why Joy to the World is an Advent hymn. May God’s love break through all hearts astir this season and always.