A Psalm 136 Christmas Letter
Last week I started a Christmas letter. Determined to NOT skip another year, I hastily (because I’m busy) and concisely (because I dislike long epistles) shared the “highlights” of the year. Why? Good question. It stems from the days prior to Facebook and Instagram to keep everyone up to date on our lives. In the “old” days, Christmas letters let far-away relatives know what we’d been doing – vacations, moves, etc. We’d share glowing reports of our kids’ activities – soccer, band, lessons, scouts, dance, you name it. In keeping with tradition, I replayed that old record.
Then I hit delete.
Something didn’t set well. Something wasn’t right. Oh, everything I wrote was true. Nothing was exaggerated or embarrassing. My nice neat letter told the story.
But not the whole story. Never the whole story. I remember once a relative commented in a note, “Thanks for your Christmas card/letter! You sound like a Norman Rockwell Family.”
Oh shoot.
That was not my intent.
Of course we don’t share all the yuck of the year. Of course I’m not going to vomit all the trials and pain we’ve seen in the past 12 months.
But neither do I want to give a false impression of the “perfect family.” Oh, Lord, please no!
Our lives are NOT perfect. Not one.
Though we go through tough times, we do have something to brag about. Not our activities, not our endurance, but God’s love and faithfulness to see us through.
This morning I came across Psalm 136. It’s a liturgy of praise when the Psalmist lists his blessings, giving thanks to the Lord, followed by the repeated refrain, “His love endures forever.”
My mind began to replay where I saw His faithfulness throughout the year, followed by the refrain.
It inspired a NEW Christmas letter:
On and on my personal psalm continued in my heart, beyond the original 26 verses found in Scriptures.
Read Psalm 136 yourself. Then try it. Search your past for those God-filled moments.
Your heart, like mine, will be filled with joy!
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One Comment
Rebecca Schoepp
You have spoken the truth. Yes we often just share the positives thus unwittingly displaying what may seem like a picture prefect family. But to air all the woes. well we can’t do that either. I appreciated your final Christmas letter. Well said. We have a friend in WI south of you.. who gives himself plaques as a sign of events/situations he has come thru. they are plaques to remind of the positive things learned and/or the blessings God has bestowed upon him in the process.