God the Father was willing to have an empty seat at His table…
You say it to the store employee who put your shopping bags in the trunk. You say it to the pharmacist when you pick up your prescription. You choose a photo card where it is displayed under the picture of your smiling family. You hug your friend and share the sentiment. It’s all over cards, stores, commercials, churches, and houses.
Happy Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy Hanukkah. Happy New Year.
We wish others a joyful feeling as they celebrate the holidays. Hoping for the perfect picture of peaceful families around the dinner table and laughter under the tree as kids rip open their presents.
But what if there is an empty seat at the table? What if there is a bare place on the mantel where a child’s stocking should be hanging? Maybe not only this year, but last year, and the year before, and before. Every year becomes a constant reminder of that person not here.
Not here because of death, family division, a misunderstanding with a friend. As much as we want “the best time of the year” to be “happy” and “merry,” it’s not always the case.
I remember that first Christmas the year Seth died. Seth would have been 1 month old. I should have left the room full of festivities to nurse my newborn. He should have been passed around from family member to family member. He should have received his First Christmas ornament.
Instead, I left the room to hide in the bathroom to take a few breaths, praying through the grief. I forced a smile for the family picture. I felt guilt for not being “happy” and “merry”, because we were celebrating the coming of our Savior, and I had so much to be thankful for.
But the pain lingers. The unanswered questions haunt. The “should have beens” shout.
Maybe this is you this year. Whether it’s the first year or the 21st year without that special someone, you are not alone. Many people are fighting the dichotomy between “happy” and “merry” with sadness and grief.
What is even more comforting to me is that God the Father understands. Christmas is for celebrating the coming of Jesus as a baby. That moment in time when the second Person of the Godhead sacrificed to become a man and live among us. But have we ever stopped to think about how God the Father felt? For the first time in all of eternity, His Son left His side. He watched Mary give birth to His Son. He heard the angels proclaim the Good News to the shepherds. He received glory when the wisemen bowed down to worship and offer gifts.
Yet the Son continued to be absent from the right hand of God the Father, while He resumed His place of glory in Heaven. It would be 33 earthly years before He came back to Him.
This year, when the emptiness stares mockingly back at you, look through it to see Abba Father. He’s sitting at the table with you. He’s holding you when the grief becomes heavy. He releases you from the guilt of not always being “happy” and “merry.”
There are people all around us experiencing this pain right now. Sometimes the grief is even more unbearable leading up to the actual day. Would you consider gifting them this year with the message of Living Hope? God the Father was willing to have an empty seat at His table for a moment in time, in order to offer us a seat at His table for all eternity. That’s the Hope we all need this holiday season.
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