Trending
LOCK HAVEN -- Great Island Presbyterian Church, 12 W. Water St., Lock Haven, will be holding a Blue Christmas Service on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Blue Christmas service provides a quiet and contemplative worship service as an alternative to the more traditional gatherings.
A 2014 National Alliance on Mental Illness study reveals 64% of respondents with mental stress found that holidays make their conditions worse.
Christmas can be hard for many, who are supposed to be happy and joyful, but have the memory of a lost one, someone who is missing.
And it's beneficial to recognize the hard stuff. People offer prayers and light candles, and open up to the sadness they're carrying. About loss, relationships and sometimes addiction.
Things can be tough, but you do not need to go through it alone. In truth, all of us will be touched by darkness -- if we're not living in it right now.
And the Christmas story, full of promise and joy, the darkness is there as well. What is normal holiday grief? You open the box of ornaments and stand frozen. A handmade wreath with your child's third grade picture in it. The engraved 'Our First Christmas Together' star. A mini palm tree from a trip to the beach, whichever your memory, the emotions flood in.
"It is no fun being blindsided by your own emotions," says Taylor Camerer, Pastor at Great Island. "First take care of yourself, and don't fight these emotions when they come, but prepare for them. We need to face these emotions in order to get through them."
"Your energy is bound to be low for the holiday season. Set realistic expectations for yourself. Give yourself permission to say no and maybe," Camerer said.
It is all part of managing expectations, what others have for you and what you have for others. There is sadness in the fact that each holiday is never going to be the same after a loss. This is hard. But it's better than adopting a crushing burden of trying to recreate something that cannot be recreated. And the hardest expectations to manage are the expectations you have for yourself. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." (Psalm 55:22)