Finding Joy When Life Falls Apart

Here’s the real question: Do you think the sorrow diminished, or extinguished, the joy? Does your pain diminish, or extinguish, your joy? There’s always a boatload of pain in the middle of our Christmas stories. Families that are not at peace. Maybe there is someone who can’t come home, or won’t come home, or someone you lost. Maybe there is pain because you couldn’t give the gifts you wanted, or maybe the gifts you did give were unwanted. For many, the apparent joy of others only intensifies the loneliness and unhappiness they themselves feel. So, does your pain diminish, or extinguish, your joy? Joy is easy in the context of a manger. Joy is easy when our choreography comes true. But what about when our plans are shattered. What about in the context of brokenness? Or what about in the face of evil? Is joy still possible in the context of the slaughter?