An Open Letter to the Difficult Person

It’s possible we meet often throughout the year, but you’re like clockwork in my life around this season. I often wonder how many of you Charles Dickens had to meet before creating the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. I sometimes sit in the quiet of my home, where all is supposed to be calm and bright, left thinking on the things you’ve said or done to me. Maybe you know about it, maybe you don’t, but in letting it sit in those brief moments I’ve found myself isolated from the very things we anticipate during the holiday season; hope, joy, and love. 

During Christmas my daughters love running around the house singing “Jingle Bells” and other merry tunes. As a family we go out and marvel at the lights other families display, and together we take the time to share warmth, meals, and gift exchanges with one another in our homes. Due to those precious traditions and memories I hold close to my heart, it’s easy to become bothered by you and to, at times, wish you’d be visited by three ghosts yourself. 

But alas, that’s not how Christmas works. 

You see if I were to hold the laughter, glistening, and warmth of the fireplace a little looser, I’d remember that Christmas is a gift to the broken. I’d see a gift of life, offered in the lowest possible place, was meant to meet those in their most devastating seasons. I’d realize the ghost of christmas past, present, and future, written in a timeless classic was a reflection of the truth of Jesus being the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It will never matter how difficult we become. Love will always be stronger.

I've decided this holiday season when I meet you on the streets, in my home, or at my work, instead of becoming bothered by you, I will take a deep breath and meet you where you are. There is a reason that baby was born in a manger. There’s a reason as a man he was beaten and bruised, shamed, and hung on a cross for all to see. I will walk with you and meet Him there because we can’t get any lower than that. And we cannot love any stronger than that. This holiday season when I become difficult, please do the same for me.

‘Tis the season of anticipation, we all feel it in our hearts. How we respond is our choice.  How others respond is their choice. Responding to them in joy, hope, and love is our responsibility. That IS Christmas.