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As we step into the Holy night with the birth of God’s Holy child, our hearts are filled with hope, love, joy & gratitude that radiates the light of the world, that has grown brighter as we receive God’s gift of new life for us as His kingdom expands to include all people on earth

As real & painful as a spirit of grief can be, it is possible to shift our view to include waves of gratitude to infiltrate the darkness & thus to let light & healing into our being.

When we are suffering & lost, & unable to feel a thankful heart, then we are invited by God our creator to pause & breath in His goodness & look around at the beauty of life that surrounds us & that reflects His glory.

Early in the Old Testament of the Bible, we read that God formed an everlasting covenant or sacred promise with His believers, in which He promised to protect, guide & bless them & all generations to come with a permanent ever-lasting relationship between our Creator & all of creation.

Free will is part of God’s creative plan, therefore He does not stop the storms we encounter in life. However, He promises to always walk with us in the beauty & the suffering we encounter in life.

Though we have very little control over the challenges that we may encounter along the pathway of life, we do have a choice as to how we will navigate the challenges we encounter. Sometimes we make choices that reflect the Spirit of God within us & that fans the flames of hope grounded in God’s promise of new life given to us & to others, & other times we do not.

When we put our trust in our living God, letting our Creator define our life, we can move away from fear, sadness, & feelings of hopelessness & absorb the love & new life God blesses us with. God is our shepherd, & our refuge & our strength. Regardless of what losses we encounter, new life will be given to us if we trust in God the giver of all life.

It is human nature to want an explanation when things happen that turn our life upside down. When things happen that change our lives traumatically, that make no sense at all & that cause despair & feelings of hopelessness, most people, even people who claim not to believe in God, eventually do turn to God & ask; why? why did this happen? why me? & what did I do to deserve this?

Most of the world’s religions recognize that some of the deepest & most unknowable questions are examined through Biblical stories. One of the darkest & most difficult stories that contains some answers to the question of why painful, challenging situations occur & how to navigate them & move forward, is found in the story of Abraham & his son Isaac in the book of Genesis.

As perfect & spiritually feeding as the summer season appears, the fact of the matter is, woven within these glorious days, it cannot be denied that there are days when we may experience illness or unsettling situations that unbalance us & effect our body, mind, & spirit in one way or another. Suffering, grief & loss do not take time out for the months of the summer.