I spent most of Christmas Day alone, but I am reflecting how I didn’t feel all alone. I truly had peace despite… To start the story, I caught the flu bug the day before Christmas and I had to completely miss my reading part in the Christmas Eve program – a program I was looking forward to sharing with friends and family. That was at first disappointing but I would’ve been coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose on stage and so I spent the evening quietly at home with my hubby and two boys. The next Christmas morning, I was… still sick. I took cold meds and threw in a throat lozenge, cozied up in my terrycloth robe and warm jammies and plunked myself in my living room chair with the family. Yes, I wonderfully started the day with my family, with the reading of Christmas story by my hubby, with opening the stockings and a few gifts. And then, later they headed off to a family gathering all afternoon and evening and I bunkered down with tissues, cough drops and mint tea.

All of a sudden, the house was quiet. I was alone. The snow was beautifully coming down – a White Christmas. And here I was alone with two sleepy cats. Then I realized, I was… at peace. In years past, in previous days of hurt and betrayal, I would’ve deeply struggled with a Christmas Day all alone. Now, I smiled and thanked God for His peaceful presence. He was with me.

Then today, I read this exceprt from Ann Voskamp emailed to me from a friend. I am afraid I cannot find it on her website to properly source it, so if any of you readers can find it, post the link on the comments below. It’s perfect…

Here it is… We are not alone!!

Our God who breathes stars, He breathed Bethlehem’s Star, then took on lungs and breathed in stable air. Our God who formed and delivered the heavens, He waited patient like an embryo in a womb and delivered Himself to free all humanity. Our God who cradles whole galaxies in the palm of His hand, whom highest heavens cannot contain, He folds Himself into our skin and He curls His newborn fist in the cradle of a barn feed trough — and we are saved from ourselves. We are saved from our hopelessness — because God came with infant fists and opened wide His hand to take the nail sharp edge of our sins. We are saved from our pain — because God pierced the dark and came to the pinpoint of us in the universe and He took the nails.We are saved from our loneliness — because God is love that can’t stand to leave us by ourselves, to ourselves. The entire cosmos sings it on Christmas Eve: We are not alone. We are a pinpoint in the universe that is now nailed to eternity because of the wood of a manger, of a Tree, of a crowning wreath of thorns.  Out of the dark, out of the black  . . . and right into the the land of the shadow of death, a great Light has dawned, and God comes and God is with us, Emmanuel… We are not alone. God can’t miss this pale blue dot – earth, and God can’t leave you in your pain, and God can’t leave you by yourself so the King comes, God comes — Love come down. And all the world this night, it aches and it hurts and it huddles and it groans and it glows a wonder in a black that isn’t that black after all — God says,“I am here and you are not alone.” God’s with us!  ~ Ann Voskamp