Depressed & Dreading the Holidays

Ever felt depressed and dreading a holiday? I was. Only one of my sons was going to be in town and he let me know he would not be seeing us on Thanksgiving Day because he’d be spending it with friends. All of my other friends failed to invite me to visit with them on T-Day. So I was warming up to a great pity party and letting God know about it too!

Then I got a great idea … we just won’t be home on Thanksgiving. We could go to El Paso, or Albuquerque, or Carlsbad, or whatever. I told (yes … told) Larry that I was NOT going to be staying home … in fact didn’t even want to be home for Thanksgiving Day. He asked me what I wanted to do … and I was like “I don’t know … I just don’t want to be here when no one else is here.” Then he says, “So I’m not someone?” Well, not really he’s part of me, so that doesn’t count. Anyways, the Gospel Rescue Mission came up and he suggested we try to serve there. I called in and got on the list … yes in Las Cruces you have to get on the list if you want to help out because it’s a popular thing to do on Thanksgiving. Then two other of my friends asked us to drop by when we were done at the mission. Score!

So we went to the mission helped and it was great. There wasn’t a lot to do because many hands make light work ^_^. While we were there we ran into our new friend Kory. He just got stationed out at Holloman AFB and since he couldn’t go home for the holiday he looked up a place where he could make himself useful. Then my son’s plans got cancelled and he showed up at the mission with another friend of his and so we were really enjoying the visiting. Then we all split up to visit different friends and then reconnected at another friends, then ended up at our house to play cards and visit some more.

When the Israelites had just left Egypt, and during the 40 years that they wandered around, there were times that they had genuine needs so they complained & grumbled. Nevertheless many times God just provided for them even in the midst of their complaining.

So while I was looking forward to a very bleak holiday and feeling sorry for myself and complaining, God provided a great time of fellowship and sharing with my son, our new friend Kory, and my friends Yvonne and Mari. We had three Thanksgiving meals and I didn’t cook anything! But God provided abundantly above and beyond what I couldn’t even imagined. What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had.

Isn’t it great how He’s so good like that? Providing what we need physically & mentally & emotionally even on holidays. I pray that you will be able to look forward to the Christmas holidays, look forward to it as an opportunity to serve Him and an opportunity to give thanks for all that He has done and is still doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Thank God that He is the reason for the season.

The Lights of Glory

by Barbara Chadwick

We were flying into the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California on a Friday evening at 5:00PM on November 19th. The lights of greater Los Angeles were startling!

There were lights in homes where families were gathering, lights in stores and malls where families were shopping, lights in parks where children were playing sports while their families watched. Lights shone from restaurants where families ate, and on and on….

There were rivers of lights criss-crossing the whole area where vehicles made their way home from work and school on the freeways.

It was beautiful! Awesome! It was just a little reminder of the glory that awaits us in heaven.

Do you remember the hymn, Because He Lives by Gloria and William Gaither

God sent His Son. They called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon, an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.


And then one day I’ll cross the river. I’ll fight life’s final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory, I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know, I know, He holds the future; and life is worth the living just because He lives.

Today, Sunday, we had a worship service in my Mother’s apartment. She and my step-dad cannot go to church any more. It was a wonderful time of singing, prayer, and fellowship. Kenneth presented a wonderful sermon on being thankful . The scripture he used was Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Kenneth talked about the things we are thankful for. Uppermost is that we have a God of love who provided a way of salvation for us through Jesus Christ, so that we can have the privilege of seeing those lights of glory and approaching the throne of Grace in heaven.