Loss & the Holidays
For those of us with little ones at home, the holidays are a festive and fun time of decorating, baking, and activities. However for many people, this time of the year brings only feelings of grief and depression. Unfortunately, our upbeat and family-filled social media posts unintentionally only add to the despair that others are experiencing. Their tragedy has robbed them of hope for the future. Even those that know Christ can find hope hard to come by when their grief is so deep. So, what do we do?
Much like our “Adopt a Missionary” idea, one way a missional family can make a difference is to “Adopt a Widow” or “Adopt a Family” for the holidays. I believe the holidays can actually be the perfect time to share the great joy and love of Christ with others, especially those that are hurting deeply from loss. Most people have some time off during the holiday season, so scheduling a visit is not as difficult as it would be during the year. The normal awkward conversations can be more light-hearted and holiday focused. There are so many things to talk about this time of year. Planning an initial visit can start the ball rolling on planning other visits to do some holiday baking, gift wrapping, or other visits once the holidays are over.
Please understand, by adopting a widow or family I don’t mean just stopping by once during the holidays and then going on about your life as usual. By adopting others into your family, you are treating others like God treated us when He adopted us into His heavenly family. Like the Bible says in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Understanding that others are significant means that we treat them like they are significant. In the same way that God continues to pursue us, continue to pursue a relationship with the widow or family you have adopted. As Christians I want to encourage you and your family to consider this verse, and then pray about how you can reach the grieving this Christmas season.
Rebecca Mena serves neighbors and nations alongside her husband and three children in Houston, TX.
